Men’s Basketball’s Comeback Falls Short vs. Mt. St. Mary

Patchogue, NY| Despite erasing a 27-point first-half deficit, the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team was defeated, 71-59, in a lively Skyline Conference contest against Mount St. Mary College in the Danzi Center on Saturday afternoon.

The loss sends the Golden Eagles to 5-13 overall on the year and 0-10 in Skyline play as the Knights improve to 6-13 and 4-6.

Senior Frank Basile posted game-high totals for points (27) and rebounds (9) in addition to registering three assists.

Freshman Christian Pace shot 3-for-7 from the field and contributed eight points, and senior Doug Niblock went for nine points and four rebounds.

Sophomore Matthew Hirdt shot 2-for-6 from three and contributed six points off the bench.

The Knights were led by Ethan Fox and Kendall Francis who both tallied 16 points.

A slow start saw the Golden Eagles fall behind 32-5 12:24 into the contest, setting them up to start the second half down 17 points (42-25). 

In the second period, SJC tallied 28 of the half's first 40 points and cut MSMC's lead to just one point (54-53) with 9:41 to play. SJC kept pace with the guests in the closing minutes but failed to pull ahead or tie the score. 

St. Joseph's was better from the charity stripe, where it outshot the Knights 71.4% to 57.1%, but struggled from the field and beyond the arc. Both teams found 11 points on the bench. 

The Golden Eagles return to action on Wednesday, February 5 when they host SUNY Purchase for a Skyline Conference contest at 6:00 pm.