Men’s Basketball Falls to SJC-Brooklyn in Overtime

Brooklyn, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team was edged, 68-64, by St. Joseph's College (Brkln) in an overtime thriller at the Hill Center on Tuesday evening.

The loss sends the Golden Eagles to 3-9 overall on the year and 2-6 in Skyline Conference play as the Bears improve to 5-8 (4-5 Skyline).

Junior Frank Basile posted game-high totals in points (20) and rebounds (12) for his ninth double-double of the season. Senior Mike Harris (12 points) and junior Brad Weiss (10 points) also scored in double-digits.

Freshman Matthew Hirdt went for eight points and fellow classman Matthew Lavin contributed seven points off the bench.

SJC-Brooklyn was paced by Kavan Meiner, who scored 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. Stephane and Sebastien Etheart were credited with 10 rebounds apiece.

A strong end to the first half ensured the Golden Eagles entered the break up 30-24, but midway through the second frame, the Bears took a 43-42 lead when Dimitri Sirakis drained a pair of free throws.

Down two points (60-58) with under a minute remaining in regulation, the Golden Eagles forced overtime when Basile converted a layup with 31 seconds on the clock. Tied at 64 in the five-minute overtime, it was the Bears that broke the deadlock with four-straight points to earn a 68-64 victory.

Despite being outshot 43.4% to 36.4% from the field, the Golden Eagles were the better team from three (29.2%-21.1%) and outscored their opponent 12-9 off the bench.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Thursday, January 10 when they host the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy inside the Danzi Center at 7:30 pm.