Men’s Basketball Edged by William Paterson on Sunday

Patchogue, NY| Despite a 24-point, 11-rebound performance by junior Frank Basile, the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team was topped 63-59 by William Paterson University inside the Danzi Center on Sunday afternoon.

The loss sends the Golden Eagles to 2-7 overall on the year as the Pioneers improve to 9-4.

Basile's double-double was his team-leading seventh of the season. The guard shot 8-for-17 from the field and 4-for-9 from three in the contest.

Junior Brad Weiss scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, and sophomore Anthony Simpson contributed 10 points off the bench.

Paterson was powered by Sean Smith, who scored a team-best 14 points.

The guests went up 11-10 5:20 into the first half and went on to take a 35-27 lead into the break.

Across seven minutes in the second half, SJC posted a 17-6 run and took a 53-52 lead with 3:21 to play in regulation. The Pioneers tied the game at 53 with the next possession and pulled ahead 55-53 shortly after. From there they would hold off SJC en route to a 63-59 victory.

St. Joseph's was the better shooting team from three (30.4% to 16.7%) but were edged 37.9%-35.6% from the field. SJC outrebounded Paterson 40-38 but was outscored 32-26 in the paint.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Thursday, January 3 when they host SUNY Purchase for a Skyline Conference contest at 7:30 pm.