Men’s Basketball Holds Off Connecticut for Non-Conference Win

Patchogue, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team fought off a second-half surge to edge Connecticut College, 59-57, in non-conference action inside the Danzi Center on Friday evening.

The win sees the Golden Eagles improve to 3-2 overall on the year as the Camels slip to 3-5. 

SJC was powered by senior Frank Basile, who scored 22 points (8-18 FG) and inched closer to his 1,000th career point (980). The guard also pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds and added four helpers.

Sophomore Michael Darby (4-12 FG) contributed nine points while seniors Jonah Caldwell (3-6 FG) and Doug Niblock (3-6 FG) both scored seven points apiece. Senior Brad Weiss tallied six points (2-6 FG) and three rebounds off the bench.

The Camels were led by Daniel Draffan, who scored 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field.

SJC took its first lead 9:32 into the contest when Weiss converted a layup, and despite leading for virtually the entire second half of the first period, the Golden Eagles entered the break tied at 30. 

A strong opening seven minutes of the second half saw SJC go up 10 points when freshman Christan Pace drained a three-pointer at 13:26. 

Connecticut would then go on a 15-3 run a pull ahead 51-49 with 6:25 to play, but in the end it was Basile's three-ball with 3:27 remaining that proved to be the clincher as St. Joseph's held on for the narrow victory.

Connecticut was the better shooting side from the field but SJC held the advantage beyond the arc (37.0% to 22.2%). The Camels were the better side in the paint where they outscored (32-20) and outrebounded (38-34) the hosts. 

The Golden Eagles return to action on Sunday, December 8 when they host Yeshiva University for a Skyline Conference contest at 3:00 pm.