Men’s Basketball Outpaced by Eastern Menonite in Pablo Coto Tourn. Opener

Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Arlington, VA| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team was defeated by Eastern Menonite University 98-70 on Saturday afternoon in the opening match of the Pablo Coto Tip-Off Tournament held at Marymount University. With the loss, the Golden Eagles see their season mark fall under .500 (1-2), while the Royals improve to 1-1.

In match that saw zero lead changes, Eastern Menonite would get on the board first courtesy of a Maleke Jones three-pointer 24 seconds into the game. After falling behind 16-7 at 14:43, back-to-back buckets by junior Andy Laurent cut the Golden Eagles' deficit to five points with 13:19 to play in the first, but an 11-2 run by the Royals reestablished Eastern Menonitie's commanding lead.

After entering halftime up 39-24, the Royals drained consecutive three-pointers early in the second half to extend their lead to 21 points (45-24). With 2:08 remaining in the match, Eastern Menonite would hold its largest lead (93-63) before earning the 98-70 win.

Junior Fernando Vazquez led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 21 points in addition to adding nine rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Isaiah Moore dropped 15 points and grabbed nine boards, and Laurent went for 12 points and five rebounds.

Despite outshooting the Royals from the free-throw line (77.8%-52.5%), the Golden Eagles shot just 32.8% from the field. Eastern Menonite also held advantages in points in the paint (38-16) and second-chance points (20-4).

The Golden Eagles will return to action tomorrow, Sunday, November 22 when they face the loser of Saturday's match between Medgar Evers and Marymount in day two of the Pablo Coto Tip-Off Tournament. Live streaming and stats will be available here.