Moore Tallies 19 as Men's Basketball Stumbles vs. Yeshiva

Written by Nick Esposito (SJC-LI Sports Information)

New York, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team was unable to clinch a spot in the Skyline Conference playoffs on Thursday evening, as it dropped a 75-70 road decision to Yeshiva University despite 19-point performances from Isaiah Moore and Andy Laurent. Now with an overall conference record of 9-10 (10-14 overall), the Golden Eagles face a must-win situation on Saturday afternoon in their final game of the season vs. Mount Saint Mary at home.

St. Joseph's played catch-up to start the contest after the Maccabees opened with a 10-2 advantage. Down by nine at 10:54, guard Stephen Cohen connected on a three-pointer that launched a 17-6 run. At 6:59, Moore was able to hit from distance to cap off the impressive scoring surge to take their first lead of the game, 27-25.

Yeshiva would go on to trade baskets with St. Joseph's for the final six minutes of the first half with Laurent scoring the final points after knocking down two free throws to take a 34-34 tie into intermission.

Like the first, the second half was filled with back-to-back action. The Golden Eagle's strongest run came early in the period when Joseph Savaligio scored two consecutive treys that sparked a 9-1 run to give the visitors their biggest lead of the night (9) at 13:33 up 49-40.

The Maccabees responded with a plethora of scoring, refusing to relinquish the lead for the entirety of the half despite efficient late-game three-point shooting from Laurent, Moore, and Fernando Vazquez, who combined for 4-of-6 triples in the final two minutes of the match.  Yeshiva finished off the Golden Eagles with late game penalty shots to take the 75-70 victory.  

Moore and Laurent's performances weren't limited to their scoring abilities, as both players protected the glass well with six rebounds and combined for three steals, while Laurent added five assists.

Vazquez was precise from the field shooting over 50% (6-for-11) for 15 points. Defensively, he nabbed a team-tying six rebounds and snatched a steal.

Dominique Spann was a menace on the defensive end for St. Joseph's logging two blocks (tallying his twentieth of the year), while grabbing five rebounds and forcing two steals.

The Golden Eagles season hinges on their next matchup as St. Joseph's prepares to take on Mount Saint Mary for Senior Day at the Danzi Center this Saturday (Feb. 20) at 3:00 PM. Live stats available here.