Men’s Basketball Downed by Old Westbury, 80-70

Old Westbury, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team dropped an 80-70 road decision to Skyline Conference rival SUNY Old Westbury at the Clark Athletic Center on Wednesday evening.

The loss sends the Golden Eagles to 5-5 overall on the year and 0-2 in conference play as the Panthers improve to 6-6 and 2-1. 

SJC was powered by senior Frank Basile, who tallied a game-best 30 points on 10-for-23 shooting from the field. Additionally, Basile pulled down nine rebounds and dished out four assists.

Senior Doug Niblock contributed 12 points (6-for-14 FG) and was credited with four assists while senior Jonah Caldwell posted the first double-double of his career with a 10-point, 12-rebound performance.

Elsewhere, sophomores Matt Lavin went for seven points and freshman Brian Dellecave scored five points off the bench.

Leading the way for Old Westbury was Charles Wingate, who tallied 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting.

Early jockeying resulted in five ties and three lead changes, but with the score knotted up at 15 midway through the first, Old Westbury tallied the next four points and surged into halftime with a 36-29 lead. 

St. Joseph's went on to score 12 of the second half's first 16 points and took back the lead 4:43 into the period when Basile drained a three-pointer. Old Wetsbury responded quickly, going back ahead shortly after before fending off the Golden Eagles to secure a 10-point conference victory.

The Panthers outshot SJC from the field (55.6% to 40.6%) and from beyond the arc (33.3% to 22.6%) and led by as many as 12 points. St. Joseph's held a slim margin in free-throw shooting percentage (61.1% to 60.9%). 

The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday, January 11 when they host the College of Mount St. Vincent for a Skyline Conference contest at 3:00 pm.