Men's Basketball Downs Dolphins, 69-63

Written by Julia Ruocchio

When and Where:

February 14, 2023 - Patchogue, NY

Records:

St. Joseph's (L.I.), 12-11, 9-6 Skyline

Mt. St. Vincent, 11-12, 7-8 Skyline

Results:

The St. Joseph's University (L.I.) men's basketball team held on to a 69-63 win over the College of Mt. St. Vincent in a conference match-up at the Danzi Center on Tuesday evening.

Top performers:

• Sophomore Alex Tabada recorded a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 9-for-15 from the field while adding three steals and two blocks to lead the Golden Eagles

• Junior Xavier Allen went 4-for-8 from three-point range and scored 19 points with seven rebounds and two blocks

• Junior Spencer Malloy contributed 10 points and eight rebounds, along with four assists and a pair of blocks

• A 19-point performance for DJ Tucker led Mt. St. Vincent. He added seven rebounds, four steals, four blocks

• Dillon Hod scored 11 points for the Dolphins, while Joshua Cabezudo collected a team-high nine rebounds along with eight points

How it happened:

• St. Joseph's built an early 8-0 lead in the first three minutes of the contest

• A pair of baskets for Tabada and a three from senior Jake Gaudiello extended the lead to 15-4, before Mt. St. Vincent went on a 7-2 run to make it a 17-11 game

• St. Joseph's scored three, three-point baskets, with Graduate Matthew Hirdt's putting the hosts ahead by nine (26-17) at the 7:01 mark

• The Dolphins proceeded to go on a 15-0 run, with Hod's basket tying the game at 26 at the 4:25 mark. Two consecutive three-point shots for Adrian Rraci put the visitors up 32-26 with 2:59 remaining

• St. Joseph's led by as much as 11 in the half, but then they went into the break trailing by five 33-28

• After a back-and-forth beginning of the half, the Dolphins took their largest lead of the night of eight points at the 17:33 mark (40-32)

• The Golden Eagles began to chip away at CMSV's lead, as the hosts scored nine of the following 13 points to come within three (44-41) with 15:02 on the clock

• A basket for junior Timothy Hirdt brought the hosts within one (46-45) at the 12:25 mark, then Allen made a three shortly after to knot the game at 48 apiece with 11:15 on the clock

• Tabada's jump shot gave St. Joseph's their first lead of the half (50-48) at the 10:27 mark, then the hosts went on a 10-4 run to go ahead by seven (60-53)

• CMSV came within two (60-58) on a basket for Tucker with 3:12 remaining, then came within three (66-63) on a Tucker three-pointer with 1:07 on the clock, but Allen responded with baskets of his own both times to help keep SJLI in the lead

• Allen scored the final eight points for the Golden Eagles to help solidify a 69-63 victory

Notes:

• St. Joseph's shot 43.5% from the field and 32.1% from three-point territory

• Mt. St. Vincent was limited to a 36.2% shooting percentage overall and shot just 27.3% from beyond the arc

• Allen's 14 points and Tabada's 13 points in the second half powered the second-half comeback for the Golden Eagles

• Mt. St. Vincent held the advantage in rebounds 44-39

• Both teams scored 28 points in the paint

The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday, February 18 when they host St. Joseph's University (BK) for a conference match-up at 3:30 pm on Senior Day.