Golden Eagles Sink Maritime for Skyline Road Win

Throggs Neck, N.Y. - The St. Joseph's College Golden Eagles men's basketball team (9-6, 6-2 Skyline) sits in a four-way tie for first place in the Skyline Conference standings after beating Maritime College (5-10, 3-5 Skyline) in a 67-63 victory Thursday night at Riesenberg Gymnasium.

SJC kicked off the game with Sean McCarthy (Kings Park, N.Y./ Kings Park) and Darryl Charles (Middletown, N.Y. / Poughkeepsie) buckets that put the visitors up early, 4-2. Three minutes into the tilt and tied up at four apiece, the Golden Eagles made their first and largest run of the half, 7-0.

At 8:26 the Privateers would match the Eagle's run with their own 9-2 spurt, overtaking St. Joseph's for the first time in the game. Maritime was able to hold on to the lead as they finished the half strong with a slight 31-29 advantage.

St. Joseph's had to battle point-by-point to regain the lead over the Privateers and at 14:57 did just that after guard Evan Mohammed (Bayside, N.Y. / Holy Cross) was able to knock down two free throws, boosting his team up by one point.

After gaining the lead, the Golden Eagles played tenaciously to not relinquish it, finishing the final period scoring 38 points. 

With one minute remaining in the game the Privateers had a chance to cut St. Joseph's lead to three points, but guard Andy Laurent (Amityville, N.Y./ Amityville) swooped in and made a crucial steal that led to Charles being sent to the free throw line for two shots.

St. Joseph's shot tremendously in the matchup with 41.3% for the game, 50% from three and 68.6% percent from the free throw line.

SJC won the backboard battle, outrebounding the Privateers, 46-37.

Four Golden Eagles finished the night in double-digit scoring totals. With a game-high 18 points, Laurent led all by shooting nearly perfect going 5-for-6 from field goal range and 8-for-9 from the charity stripe.  Fernando Vazquez (Babylon, N.Y. / Babylon) was able to tally eleven points in his return from an injury, while Mohammed and Isaiah Moore (North Babylon, NY / North Babylon) scored 10 points each.

Guard Nick Gallina (Holbrook, N.Y./ Sachem North) recorded six points, caught a game-high 13 rebounds and found two assists.

St. Joseph's College looks to keep the ball rolling after going 8-2 in the last 10 games, taking their momentum to the Mount Saint Mary Knights (4-11, 3-5 Skyline) in a Skyline Conference face-off in Newburgh, N.Y. this Saturday at 1 p.m.