Men’s Basketball Edges Old Westbury for First Win of the Season

Written by Andrew Capitelli (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 75-67 victory over Skyline Conference rival SUNY Old Westbury inside the Danzi Center on Thursday evening.

The win is the first of the season for the Golden Eagles who improved to 1-4 (1-0 Skyline) on the season. The Panthers, still searching for their first victory of the year, slide to 0-5 (0-1 Skyline).

Old Westbury pulled ahead early in the contest, claiming 13 of the game's first 20 points, but a subsequent 13-7 run by the hosts, capped off by an Isaiah Moore jumper, knotted the game at 20 with 7:10 to play in the first half.

CJ Capilets' converted layup just 20 seconds later put SJC up 22-20 but the Panthers retook the lead (23-22) at 5:54 and later took a 34-31 lead into the break.

After Andy Laurent scored the first two points of the second half, Fernando Vazquez's successive jumpers—the second of which was from beyond the arc—put the Golden Eagles up 38-34 3:03 into the frame.

Old Westbury later went up 42-41 following a Stephon Odle bucket, but Mike Harris' three ball put SJC back in front (44-42) with 13:40 to play and the Golden Eagles never relinquished the lead. The Panthers came back to within one (52-51), but SJC opened up a 10-point lead (69-59) before claiming the 75-67 win.

Vazquez's 20 points on 7-10 shooting from the field were a team-high for the Golden Eagles. Laurent contributed 15 points and a game-best seven assists while Moore (13 points) and Santoro (12 points) were double-digit scorers as well.

Old Westbury's Jamail Stanley netted a game-best 33 points as was credited with five blocks.

The Golden Eagles outshot the Panthers from the field (46.6%-41.8%) and held an even more substantial advantage from beyond the arc (40.0%-15.0%). Old Westbury dominated the boards, outrebounding SJC 38-25.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Sunday, December 1 when they travel to Manhattan to face Skyline rival Yeshiva University at 1:00 PM. Live stats and video will be available here.