Men's Hoops Drops Regular Season Finale to Old Westbury

Old Westbury, N.Y.- After clinching a first-round bye in the Skyline Conference Tournament and winning three straight games, the St. Joseph's College men's basketball team (16-9, 13-5 Skyline) were overcome in their regular season finale by the Old Westbury Panthers (11-13, 11-6 Skyline), 95-89, Thursday night inside the Clark Athletic Center.  The game marked SJC's final contest before heading into the Skyline Conference Tournamemnt as the #2-seed and with a first-round bye.

Senior forward Sean McCarthy (Kings Point, N.Y./ Kings Point) had an impressive end to the 2014-15 regular season as he scored in double-digits in eight out of last ten, while averaging 6.7 rebounds in the month of February.  Against the Panthers tonight, McCarthy managed 25 points and grabbed seven boards.

The Panthers began the game by going on an 8-2 run, before Golden Eagle Darryl Charles (Middleton, N.Y./ Poughkeepsie) scored a free throw and a lay-up and McCarthy connected on a three-pointer to knot the game at eight.

Both teams were evenly matched until 7:43 when a Panthers' scorer made a jump shot that ignited a 10-2 Old Westbury surge.  

SJC's Andy Laurent (Amityville, N.Y./ Amityville), Brady Colucci (Port Jefferson, N.Y./ Port Jefferson), and Fernando Vazquez (West Babylon, N.Y./ West Babylon) all found the back of the basket before the end of the first buzzer, but it wasn't enough as the Panthers held a 43-34 edge to finish the first period.

St. Joseph's offense controlled the tempo in the second period, as the visitors dropped 55 second half points off 45% shooting from inside and outside the arc.

Vazquez notched consecutive scoring drives as he made jump shots from triple range and in the paint, and added a free throw that helped the Golden Eagles chip the deficit down to three points at 12:06. Old Westbury responded by going on a quick 11-1 run to lift the Panthers to a 70-57 advantage.

Nick Gallina (Lake Grove, N.Y./ Sachem North) hit several shots for SJC during a long stretch that brought the Eagles into striking distance, down by a mere five points.

With 24 seconds remaining. McCarthy sprinted down court after retrieving a defensive rebound and launched a pass to forward Isaiah Moore (North Babylon, N.Y./ North Babylon), who scored a three-pointer to break the lead to four points. The Golden Eagles got the ball back at 13 ticks, when McCarthy made a lay-up in the paint, now down by three.

After an immediate foul by SJC, the Panthers scored three final free throws to seal the victory.

Four other Golden Eagles added solid scoring nights to supplement McCarthy's strong play. Vazquez had a double-double, going 5-for-11 with 18 points while battling on the glass for ten rebounds. Laurent tallied 17 points going 6-for-6 from the free throw line and totaling four rebounds and four assists. Gallina and Colucci both accumulated ten points, with Gallina passing for seven assists and five boards as Colucci took down four missed shots.

The Golden Eagles are locked-in for a bye and a trip to the semi's of the Skyline Tournament on Thursday Feb. 26 at 7:00 p.m. at home against the winner of the Mt. St. Vincent/Purchase first-round game.

SJC's first-round bye is testament to a terrific 2014-15 regular season, in which they outscored their challengers 1754 to 1556 off 44% shooting compared to holding opponents to 39% percent.  They also topped opponents in assists (307 to 247) and steals (188 to 148).