Men's Basketball Cruises to 88-52 Win Over Purchase

Written by Julia Ruocchio

Patchogue, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team defeated the SUNY Purchase Panthers, 88-52, in a Skyline Conference match-up at the Danzi Center on Wednesday evening.

The Golden Eagles improve to 5-4 in Skyline play and 9-7 overall. The Panthers drop to a 3-5 Skyline record and 3-12 overall.

Freshman Alec Tabada led the way for St. Joseph's, scoring 17 points with five rebounds while shooting 7-for-12 from the field. Senior Matthew Hirdt shot 4-for-7 from three-point range and scored 12 points.

Justin Mason scored a team-high 14 points for the Panthers. Matthew Phillips contributed 12 points with six rebounds.

The Golden Eagles got off to a hot start and led by 15 at the 11:37 mark. They led by as much as 24 in the first half, then entered the break with a 40-18 advantage.

The hosts went on an 11-0 run to begin the second half, extending their lead to 51-18. They consistently held a lead of around 30 points for the remainder of the game, then led by a game-high 39 points with 4:53 on the clock after sophomore Becir Hot connected with a jump shot.

SJC shot 58.6% from the field, while SUNY Purchase was limited to a 30.9% shooting percentage.

The Golden Eagles will host the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at the Danzi Center on Saturday, January 29 at 3:00pm.