M. Basketball Sinks Maritime With Second Half Offensive Outburst

Patchogue, N.Y.- After a tight first period, the St. Joseph's College Golden Eagles (14-8, 11-4 Skyline) outlasted the Maritime Privateers (6-16, 4-11 Skyline) with a 42-point second half to win 81-66 Wednesday evening in the Danzi Athletic Center. 

Sean McCarthy (Kings Park, N.Y./ Kings Park) led all scorers in the game with 22 points as he connected on 8-of-17 shots while grabbing eight rebounds and blocking two shots.  The Golden Eagles had a strong outing from Billy Heenan (Amityville, N.Y./ Amityville), who finished the game 5-for-9 from beyond the arc to tally 18 points.  SJC's Fernando Vazquez (West Babylon, N.Y./ West Babylon) had 17 points and Andy Laurent (Amityville, N.Y. / Amityville) added 14 points along with six boards and three assists.

After starting the game down 6-0, Heenan sparked life into SJC after knocking down a deep three-pointer.  McCarthy followed up by hitting another triple for the Eagles along with Laurent scoring a pair of baskets to take a 12-11 lead over the Privateers.

McCarthy continued to head St. Joseph's offense, scoring on the next three possessions to tie the game at 19 with 8:52 on the clock.  The remainder of the half featured back-and-forth scoring plays between the Golden Eagles and the Privateers.

At 4:07, Dan Brzozka (Lindenhurst, N.Y./ Lindenhurst) came off the bench and knocked down a three-point shot to give SJC a 31-28 advantage. Again the Privateers scored answering baskets that were countered by a Vazquez lay-up after a power move in the paint and a completed three-point jump shot.

Heenan drove to the basket with one minute on the clock and he completed a three-point play after drawing contact on lay-up, giving the Golden Eagles a 39-37 lead.  The Privateers finished up the half with a basket, as both teams went into intermission sharing 39 points each and exchanging the lead nine times.

Heenan's sharp shooting was apparent in the second period, as he connected on three treys to open up the half.   The Golden Eagles continued to share blows with the Privateers, until Vazquez completed an "and-one" that launched St. Joseph's on a 20-6 run, their largest of the evening. During their scoring spree Vazquez accumulated nine points while McCarthy tallied eight.

Up 71-55 with five minutes remaining, the Golden Eagles fastened down on defense and finished out the tilt with Isaiah Moore (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon), Laurent, and McCarthy going perfect from the line.  

St. Joseph's College has won three out of their last four games and look to keep their wings flapping as they prepares for their next contest against the Skyline Conference's Mount Saint Vincent Dolphins, Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in the Danzi Athletic Center.