Men’s Basketball Outlasts CMSV in OT Thriller

Written by Andrew Capitell (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Patchogue, NY| Four players scored in double digits as the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team earned a 74-70 overtime victory over the College of Mount Saint Vincent inside the Danzi Center on Saturday afternoon. With the win the Golden Eagles improve to 9-12 (8-8) on the year to move into sixth place in the Skyline Conference standings, leapfrogging the Dolphins (8-13, 7-9 Skyline).

After pulling ahead 11-10 at 12:12 of the first half following a Joseph Savaglio jumper, the Golden Eagles went on a 17-6 run to pull ahead 28-16 with 5:03 to play in the frame. The Dolphins tallied the next three points before Vincent Smythe converted a layup at 3:40, but Mt. St. Vincent wrapped the half on an 11-6 run to enter the break down six points (36-30).

A Trevor Johnson three-ball at 14:14 of the second brought the Dolphins back to within two points (43-41), but SJC's response was an 8-2 run, capped off by a fastbreak dunk by Smythe with 8:43 to play in regulation.

The Golden Eagles would later open up a 10-point lead (57-47) at 6:31 after Andy Laurent sunk two free throws, but CMSV's 16-6 run that ran till the end of regulation ensured the two sides would see overtime (63-63).

The guests took the lead off of a Andrew Curiel layup 45 seconds into the extra frame, but the Golden Eagles would pull back ahead (69-68) at 2:25 after a pair of Laurent free throws. After two missed attempts by the Dolphins, Isaiah Moore capped off a layup to extend the SJC lead to three (71-68), but Jamir Ferebee responded immediately (71-70) with a layup of his own at 1:05.

Moore's turnover with 48 seconds to play gave the Dolphins the ball, but after two missed three-point attempts, Moore converted a layup and sank a free throw after being fouled with four seconds remaining. From there the Golden Eagles would hang on for the 74-70 win.

Laurent's 20 points (6-13 FG, 8-8 FT) were a team-best, and his seven assists matched a career-high. Spann (6-16 FG) and Fernando Vazquez (4-11 FG) contributed 13 points each, with the former also grabbing seven rebounds. Smythe recorded his first points (10) as a Golden Eagle in 29 minutes of action.

Mt. St. Vincent's Ferebee tallied a game-best 26 points on 10-20 shooting.

Overall, SJC barely got the better of the Dolphins from the field (44.3%-43.1%), but was outrebounded 37-34.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Thursday, February 11 when they travel to face Farmingdale St. at 8:00 PM. Live stats for the game will be available here.