Men's Basketball Falters in Opening Game of Sig Makofski Tournament

When and Where:

November 26, 2022 - Schenectady NY 

Records:

St. Joseph's (L.I.), 1-3, SUNY Poly, 3-3

Results:

The St. Joseph's University (L.I.) men's basketball dropped their opening contest against SUNY Poly at the Sig Makofski Tournament hosted by Union College, 68-59.

Top performers:

• Junior Spencer Malloy led the Golden Eagles with a game-best 25-point performance on 12-for-19 shooting with eight rebounds
• Junior Xavier Allen added eight points with Liam Sheehy pitching in with seven
• Poly was led by Levi Spina with 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the floor
• Dylan Ernst and Jesse O'Dell provided 14 points apiece with LJ Randle finishing with a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards 

How it happened: 

• The Golden Eagles led early courtesy of an 8-0 run bookended by buckets from Malloy at the 15:49 mark
• SJLI would extend to their largest lead of the afternoon, 26-13, after a Matthew Hirdt triple midway through the half
• The Wildcats inched to within six, 33-27, but the Golden Eagles would head into the break leading 35-27
• Poly would catch the Golden Eagles at 38 following an O'Dell putback with 13:22 left in the game
• Minutes later, an 8-0 run in favor of the Wildcats put them ahead 49-45 and Poly went on to lead the rest of the way for the 68-59 win

Notes: 

• The Golden Eagles shot 58.6% from the field in the first half but were held to just 21.4% in the second frame
• The Wildcats posted a 41.8% shooting percentage overall and 41.7% from beyond the arc
• SJLI was 12-for-14 from the charity stripe with Poly finishing 17-for-26
• St. Joseph's outscored Poly 44-34 in the paint, but the Wildcats held a 16-4 fastbreak advantage

 The Golden Eagles return to action Sunday, November 27 for day two of the Sig Makofski Tournament and will face either St. Joseph's (ME) of Union College at 2:00 pm.