Men’s Basketball Falls Short at Home to SJC-Brooklyn

Patchogue, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team dropped a 73-68 decision to St. Joseph's College (Brkln) in a Skyline Conference contest inside the Danzi Center on Tuesday evening despite leading at halftime. 

The win sends the Golden Eagles to 5-7 overall on the year and 0-4 in Skyline play as the Bears improve to 5-7 and 1-2. 

Leading the SJC offense was senior Frank Basile, who scored a game-high 22 points on 7-for-14 shooting and grabbed a game-best 13 rebounds for his second double-double in as many games. 

Sophomore Michael Darby was a 5-for-10 shooter from the field and contributed a season-best 14 points off the bench. Senior Doug Niblock went for 13 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, and freshman Christian Pace scored seven points.

Stephane Etheart led the Bears with 15 points and seven rebounds.

The Golden Eagles fell behind early but took a 30-29 lead with 4:28 left in the first half. Niblock would go on to drain a jumper with 10 seconds remaining in the opening period to ensure the hosts went into the break up four points (38-34).

A back-and-forth second period yielded a 68-64 scoreline in favor of the Golden Eagles with 3:27 remaining in regulation, but it was the Bears that surged late, scored the game's final nine points and clinched a 73-68 victory. 

SJC was the better shooting team from the field (43.1% to 38.2%) and from beyond the arc (35.5% to 26.1%) but paid for turning over the ball 20 times. SJC-Brooklyn held the edge in the paint where they outscored the hosts 32-16.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Thursday, January 16 when they visit Farmingdale State for a Skyline Conference contest at 7:00 pm.