Men's Hoops Bounced by Bears, 65-64

When and Where:

January 11, 2023 - Brooklyn, NY

Records:

St. Joseph's (L.I.), 6-7, 3-2 Skyline, St. Joseph's (BK), 4-10, 1-4 Skyline

Results:

The St. Joseph's University (L.I.) men's basketball team fell came up short at St. Joseph's University (BK) 65-64 in a Skyline Conference matchup at the Hill Center on Wednesday evening.

Top performers: 

• Senior Matthew Hirdt finished with 20 points on 5-for-8 shooting from long range
• Junior Spencer Malloy matched the team-high of 20 points while grabbing six boards
• Junior Xavier Allen added nine points with seven rebounds and a team-best six assists
• Evan Sirakis led the Bears with 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting

How it happened: 

• After the Bears claimed the first 10 points of the game, Hirdt sparked an 11-2 run to give SJLI their first lead of the night, 12-11
• Following an exchange of buckets, the Golden Eagles proceeded to drop in nine unanswered points to go ahead 21-13 at the 12:55 mark.
• Over the next four minutes of play, the hosts cut the deficit to just three, 24-21
• Later in the half, Malloy gave the Golden Eagles their largest lead of the frame, 40-30, before four points from SJBK moved the core to 40-34 at the break 
• The Golden Eagles lead by as many as 11 early in the second half, but the Bears chipped away to inch within two, 54-52, with 8:09 on the clock
• A three from SJBK's Chris Tracy finally caught the Golden Eagles at 58 and a pair of free throws gave the hosts their first lead since the opening minutes of the game
• A steal from Allen led to a Malloy layup put SJLI back on top, 63-62 with less than a minute to play, but a Bears' three with seven seconds on the clock gave Brooklyn the one-point victory

Notes:

• St. Joseph's shot 38.3% from the field, while the Bears finished the game with a 36.5% shooting percentage
• Despite being outrebounded 43-38, the Golden Eagles held a 28-16 advantage in the paint 
• The Bears' bench provided 18 points compared to SJLI's five 

Next up, the Golden Eagles return to the Danzi Center to host Sarah Lawrence College for a Skyline Conference match-up on Saturday, January 14 at 1:00 pm.