Maine-Presque Isle Owls Outfly Eagles in Coast Guard Tourney Consolation Game

New London, Conn. – The St. Joseph's Golden Eagles (2-6) couldn't hold on to a late lead and ultimately fell in defeat to the University of Maine-Presque Isle Owls (3-4), 81-75, in the consolation game of the Coast Guard's Citizens Bank Tournament.

The Eagles went toe-to-toe with the Owls early but jumped out to a seven-point lead midway through the first half. The Golden Eagles went ice cold on offense sparking a 15-2 run for UMPI. The Owls stretched the deficit to seven but a stellar final minute by freshamn guard Andy Laurent (Amityville, N.Y/Amityville) would get the Eagles within one possession at the half.

Junior forward Darryl Charles (Middletown, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) tied the game up at 39 to begin the second half. The teams went back and forth but midway through the half, the teams were still tied at 59. That's when the game took a turn for the worse for the Golden Eagles as they went the next three minutes without scoring as the Owls extended their lead to nine. Terrible free throw shooting down the stretch by UMPI kept the Eagles in the game, but the three-pointer at the buzzer still left St. Joseph's six points short.

Despite the loss, the Golden Eagles had two twenty point scorers, led by All-Tournament team member Charles who had a monster game with 28 points, 14 boards, four blocks and two steals. Laurent also had a stellar game, finishing with 23 points, six rebounds, and three assists.

The Eagles will travel to St. Joseph's-Brooklyn on Saturday, September 21^st at 7:30 p.m. for their annual "East vs. West" rivalry game.