Buzzer Beater Downs Men's Basketball, 70-67

Written by Julia Ruocchio

When and Where:

January 28, 2023 - Patchogue, NY

Records:

St. Joseph's (L.I.), 9-9, 6-4 Skyline

SUNY Maritime, 10-9, 6-4 Skyline

Results:

The St. Joseph's University (L.I.) men's basketball team suffered a nail-biting 70-67 loss to SUNY Maritime in a conference match-up thriller at the Danzi Center on Saturday afternoon.

Top performers:

• Junior Xavier Allen scored a game-high 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field and was tied for the lead in rebounds with nine to lead the Golden Eagles
• Junior Spencer Malloy added 14 points, nine rebounds, and a pair of blocks
• Junior Ryan McNeely contributed 12 points off the bench and sophomore Alec Tabada added six points and six assists
• Ryan Donovan led SUNY Maritime with 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field
• Robbie Mitchell and Aleksandar Begovic each added 10 points for the Privateers, with Begovic contributing eight boards

How it happened:

• Each team exchanged baskets to begin the game, then St. Joseph's took an 8-4 lead five minutes into the game
• The Golden Eagles went up 12-6, then graduate Matthew Hirdt extended SJLI's lead to their largest of the half (15-8) at the 13:00 mark
• SUNY Maritime proceeded to go on an 11-0 run, capped by a three for Jovan Germain that put them ahead 19-15 at the 7:53 mark
• The Privateers then went on a 12-2 scoring run that extended their lead to 15 (35-20) with 2:19 on the clock, then took their largest lead of 16 at the 1:22 mark (37-21), before they finished the half up 39-24
• After a back-and-forth first few minutes to begin the second half, the Golden Eagles went on an 11-0 run of their own that featured six points by Allen and three-point play by McNeely that trimmed the deficit to five (48-43)
• The hosts continued to storm back, with Allen scoring seven straight points for the Golden Eagles that brought them back within six (54-48) with 10:49 remaining
• Following a timeout at the 10:45 mark, SUNY Maritime's James O'Connell made a three to put the visitors up by nine before St. Joseph's scored the next nine points to tie the game
• A pair of two-point shots for Malloy and an Allen layup cut the deficit to three, then McNeely made a three-point shot at the 5:51 mark that evened the score at 57 apiece
• The Golden Eagles tied the game back up at 59 on a tip-in for Tabada, then SUNY Maritime went on an 8-0 run that put the visitors ahead 67-59
• SJLI responded again, as a pair of three-point baskets brought the hosts within two. McNeely's made a three-point shot at the 1:06 mark, then Matt Hirdt scored a three of his own with 20 seconds remaining that trimmed the lead to 67-65
• With seven seconds remaining, Allen tied the game at 67-67 with a layup
• The Privateers' Tyler Anderson responded with a deep buzzer-beating three-point shot, which won the game for SUNY Maritime, 70-67

Notes:

• St. Joseph's shot 45% from the field and 31.6% from three-point territory
• SUNY Maritime posted a 44.6% shooting percentage overall and 37.5% from beyond the arc
• The Golden Eagles shot just 58.3% (7-for-12) on free-throws while the Privateers went 82.4% (14-for-17) on free-throws
• SJLI held the advantage in rebounds 37-31 and points in the paint 30-22
• St. Joseph's out-scored the Privateers 43-31 in the second half after being out-scored 39-24 in the first

The Golden Eagles return to action when they take on Manhattanville at home for a conference match-up on Wednesday, February 1 at 7:00 pm.