When and Where:

January 13, 2024 - Patchogue, NY

Records:

St. Joseph's (L.I.), 7-8, 1-5 Skyline

St. Joseph's Brooklyn, 4-11, 3-3 Skyline

Results:

The St. Joseph's University (L.I.) men's basketball team drops Skyline Conference contest to St. Joseph's University Brooklyn, 83-76 on Saturday afternoon.

Top performers:

• Senior Spencer Malloy led the Golden Eagles with 21 points and nine rebounds to go along with two assists, one block, and one steal

• Junior Xavier Allen totaled 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one steal

• Senior Ryan McNeely added 19 points off the bench shooting 5-9 from three-point range

• The Bear's Jonathon Reno finished with a game-high 26 points with three steals, two assists, and three rebounds

• Evan Sirakis of SJBK tallied 23 points, six assists, two steals, and three rebounds

How it happened:

• The Bears took control of the game early, starting the game off with an 11-2 run that was capped off by a three-pointer from James Mojica just four minutes into the game

• SJBK would pull ahead by 12 just three minutes later on a layup from Reno off the pass from Sirakis 

• A three from McNeely with two minutes to go in the first half cut the lead to nine, but the Bears quickly responded, igniting a 10-4 run to close out the remaining time, capturing a 15-point lead (40-25) at half

• Back-to-back threes from Reno and Sirakis to start the second half built the Bear's lead up to 19

• Four quick points from the Golden Eagles looked to start a run but was halted by Reno and Mojica on back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to take the biggest lead of the game, 21 points

• Malloy and Allen would combine for all 17 points scored for St. Joseph's L.I. over a 14-minute stretch as they looked to climb back into the game

• As SJLI found themselves down 18 with three minutes to go in the game, a missed free throw found the hands of McNeely at the three-point line to give the team a spark

• The very next possession saw a steal from Tom Bell, who found McNeely again on the perimeter, where the forward would step back for three that would go in to cut 11 (72-61) with 2:50 left on the clock

• A missed three on behalf of the Bears set up the Golden Eagles McNeely for his third straight three-pointer in just over a minute of action to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the first half

• SJLI's run was a little too late, as clutch free throws down the end helped secure the victory for the Bears 

Notes:

• St. Joseph's L.I. shot 43.5% from the field and shot 30.8% from three-point range 

• St. Joseph's Brooklyn posted a shooting percentage of 44.4% and 28.6% from behind the arc

• The Golden Eagles were a successful 14-15 from the free throw line (93.3%)

• The Bears held a slight edge in rebounding 37-36 

Next up:

The Golden Eagles travel to Mt. St. Mary (N.Y.) for a Skyline Conference matchup on Tuesday, January 6, at 7:00 pm.