Golden Eagles Start New Year with Skyline Win Over Sarah Lawrence

Patchogue, N.Y. — Despite struggling offensively — shooting only 38.6% from the field — the Golden Eagles' (6-5, 3-1 SKY) aggressive defense allowed them to snag their third Skyline Conference win of the season on Saturday over the Sarah Lawrence Gryphons (1-8, 0-3 SKY), 67-45. Sean McCarthy (Kings Park, N.Y./ Kings Park) and Fernando Vasquez (Babylon, N.Y./ Babylon) led St. Joseph's in points with 18 and 17, respectively.

The Gryphons jumped out to a four-point lead within the first few minutes of play, but that would be the only advantage they would have for the remainder of the game. A made jump shot by Andy Laurent (Amityville, N.Y./Amityville) with five minutes left in the first half put the Golden Eagles ahead 21-10 and gave them a confidence that they would carry with them for the remainder of the game.

Sarah Lawrence eventually showed some signs of life and were able to cut their deficit to five by half-time. The Eagles were seemingly unshaken though, as they slowly worked to gain another lead in the second half.  With ten minutes left in the game, the Eagles had effectively regained ground, leading 46-36. Continuing to play aggressive defense and to maintain possession, SJC finished the game with an admirable 27-point advantage over their Skyline Conference opponents.

Over the course of the game, the Golden Eagles were able to cause 26 turnovers and convert each of those possessions into points. Though neither team shot exceptionally well from the three-point line or the foul line, the Eagles were superior to their opponents in both categories with a 30.8 three-point percentage and a 47.5 free throw percentage.

In addition to McCarthy's 18 points, he also had five steals, two assists and seven rebounds. Evan Mohammad (Bayside, NY / Holy Cross) finished with sixteen points off the bench while Darryl Charles (Middletown, NY / Poughkeepsie) proved to be a force defensively, finishing with 11 rebounds and three blocks in addition to his nine points.

The Golden Eagles will host the Purchase State Panthers on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. conference matchup.