Men’s Basketball Surges Past SJC-Brooklyn, 72-66
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Joseph's (Brkln) (4-3 (3-2)) | 32 | 34 | 66 |
|
St. Joseph's (L.I.) (3-5 (2-1)) | 30 | 42 | 72 |
Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)
Patchogue, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team earned a gutsy 72-66 victory over sister school St. Joseph's College (Brkln) in the two sides' first-ever Skyline Conference match-up inside the Danzi Center on Tuesday afternoon. With the win the Golden Eagles improve to 3-5 (2-1 Skyline) on the season while the Bears fall to 4-3 (3-2 Skyline).
After scoring the game's first two buckets, the Golden Eagles allowed the Bears to compile a 10-0 run to build a 10-4 at 14:28. The hosts would battle back to draw the game to within two points (19-17) at 8:31 after guard Stephen Cohen sank a free throw.
Brooklyn would respond by opening up a six-point lead (30-24) at 2:56 of the opening frame, but a 6-2 run by the Golden Eagles—capped off by a Andy Laurent layup with two seconds remaining—ensured the deficit at the break was only two points (32-30).
Guard Fernando Vazquez's three-ball 11 seconds into the second frame gave the Golden Eagles their first lead (33-32) since 16:51 of the first half. After a three-point play from Brooklyn's Jamir Archer inched the guests back into the lead, Laurent drained another three-ball to regain the lead (36-35) for Long Island.
The Bears would pull back in front (51-49) following a Matt O'Neill three-point sequence at 9:38, and Brooklyn would eventually maintain their advantage (56-52) at 6:28.
Over the next four minutes the teams would trade points until, at 2:32, with the score 64-63 in favor of Long Island, a Billy Heenan three-ball fired the Golden Eagles to an 8-3 run to end the game and claim the 72-66 victory.
Laurent's 22 points on 7-16 shooting was a game-best. The junior also contributed five assists on the evening. Vazquez went for 17 points and four steals, and Cohen's 12 points was his second-highest total of the season.
The Golden Eagles were by far the better shooting team, having boasted a 48.1% field-goal percentage compared to Brooklyn's 35.9%. Long Island also outscored the Bears 14-8 off turnovers despite being outrebounded 42-33.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday, December 12 when they host SUNY Purchase inside the Danzi Center at 3:00 PM. Live stats will be available here.
