Men’s Basketball Held off By Sarah Lawrence

Riverdale, NY| Despite scoring four players in double-digits, the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team dropped an 81-76 Skyline Conference decision to Sarah Lawrence College in Riverdale, NY on Thursday evening.

The loss sends the Golden Eagles to 5-12 on the year and 0-9 in Skyline play as the Gryphons improve to 8-10 and 4-5. 

Senior Frank Basile scored a team-high 26 points and pulled down seven rebounds for SJC. Senior Doug Niblock contributed 14 points and a game-high six assists.

Sophomore Matthew Hirdt came off the bench to score 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field, and sophomore Michael Darby went for 11 points, also off the bench.

Freshman Christian Pace tallied seven points and senior Jonah Caldwell went for four points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

Sarah Lawrence's Enike Aniya scored a game-high 27 points on 10-for-12 shooting.

In a contest that produced eight ties and 24 lead changes, Basile sank a pair of free throws in the final seconds of the first half to ensure SJC trailed by only one point (41-40) at the break. 

In the second half, St. Joseph's pulled ahead early and led by as many as 10 points (58-48) when Darby drained a three-pointer with 11:39 to play, but with 3:32 remaining, the Gryphons took back the lead and held off the guests for a five-point victory.

SJC shot 41.9% from three, more than three percentage points better than the Gryphons (38.1%), but was outshot 54.9% to 42.9% from the field. The St. Joseph's bench outscored Sarah Lawrence's 25-2. 

The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday, February 1 when they host Mount St. Mary for a Skyline Conference contest at 3:00 pm.