Old Westbury Outlasts Men's Basketball on Thursday

Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Old Westbury, NY| In spite of a final minute fury, the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team dropped a tight 87-86 decision on the road to Skyline Conference rival SUNY Old Westbury in the Clark Athletic Center on Thursday evening.

With the defeat the Golden Eagles fall to 9-15 on the year and 8-7 in conference play. The Panthers, who extend their winning streak to 12 games, improve to 17-7 (13-2 Skyline) and, as of Thursday evening, would host SJC in the first round of the conference playoffs.

St. Joseph's was led offensively by junior Isaiah Moore (9-14 FG) and senior Andy Laurent (8-17 FG) who grabbed five rebounds apiece and scored 26 and 24 points, respectively.

Senior Dan Nappi continued his strong run of play by contributing 13 points (5-10 FG), a team-high six rebounds and a game-high five assists.

Old Westbury's Jamail Stanley tallied a game-best 28 points on 10-15 shooting from the field.

After Moore sank a three-pointer 1:47 into the game SJC took its first lead of the evening (8-6), and shortly after, at 15:57, a Laurent free throw gave the Golden Eagles their biggest lead of the game (13-6).

A subsequent 18-4 run by the hosts saw the Panthers pull ahead 24-17 at 11:16 but SJC clawed back and maintained pace with Old Westbury to ensure the deficit at the break was only three points (46-43).

The Panthers opened the second frame on an 8-2 run to extend the deficit to nine points (54-45) but again it was SJC that refused to be left behind. A huge Frank Basile three-ball at 10:46 cut the Old Westbury lead to just two points (63-61) and later, with 41 seconds to play, a Laurent layup made it a three-point game (87-84).

After Old Westbury's Stephon Odle missed a three-point attempt with 10 seconds remaining, Nappi sank a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game (87-86) with five seconds left.

On the inbound the Panthers turned over the ball, giving SJC a chance to win the game in the dying seconds, but a Fernando Vazquez jumper and a Moore three-point attempt both failed to convert as Old Westbury held on for the 87-86 victory.

The Panthers held advantages in nearly every statistical category except for points off turnovers in which SJC outscored the hosts 24-9.

The Golden Eagles wrap up their regular season this Saturday, February 18 when they visit top-seeded Farmingdale State at 12:00pm. Live stats and video for the contest will be available here.