Men's Basketball Tops Old Westbury on Senior Day

Written by Justin Miller

Patchogue, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team defeated the SUNY Old Westbury Panthers, 70-63, in a Skyline Conference match-up at the Danzi Center on Tuesday night.

The win is the Golden Eagles' eighth in their last nine games and brings them to 14-8 overall and 10-5  in Skyline play. Old Westbury falls to 10-12 and 6-9. 

Tuesday's game also marked Senior Day for the men's basketball team. Gordon Shouler, Matthew Hirdt and Kevin O'Halloran were honored in a pregame ceremony.

The Golden Eagles were led by sophomore Spencer Malloy, who had 22 points and a team high seven rebounds in the win. Junior Jake Gaudiello shot 6-for-7 from the field and added 16 points off the bench. Sophomore Ryan McNeely added 13 points with a team-high three made three pointers.

Charles Wingate scored a team high 22 points for Old Westbury along with a game high five steals. Nigel Carter also contributed with 16 points for the Panthers.

SJC came out of the gate strong, going on a 15-0 run to take a 19-5 lead (10:06) on the visiting Panthers. This tremendous start for the Golden Eagles helped give them a 33-20 lead heading into halftime. 

In the second half, Old Westbury began to cut into SJC's double digit lead. A layup from Jonathan Jamieson at 14:45 cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the first half. The Golden Eagles maintained their lead throughout, but saw the Panthers come to within one point at 3:13 after a Zachary Cummings three-point shot. 

However, a three pointer by Ryan McNeely on the other end brought the lead back up to four. Spencer Malloy scored four points in back to back possessions for the Golden Eagles to help bring them to a six point lead. Some quality free throw shooting from SJC in the final minute helped them secure the 70-63 victory.

The Golden Eagles outshot the Panthers 45.1% to 36.9% from the field. The Golden Eagles also held the advantage in three point field goal percentage, outshooting the Panthers 41.2% to 31%. 

The Golden Eagles return to action when they visit Mt. St. Vincent's for a Skyline Conference matchup on Saturday, February 19 at 2:00 pm.