Written by Julia Ruocchio

When and Where:

January 24, 2024 - Patchogue, NY

Records:

St. Joseph's (L.I.), 8-10, 2-7 Skyline
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, 7-11, 4-5 Skyline

Results:

The St. Joseph's University (L.I.) men's basketball team snaps their four-game losing streak with an 80-76 win over U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at the Danzi Center on Wednesday evening.

Top performers:

• Junior Xavier Allen led all players with a 27-point point performance on 11-for-20 shooting from the field and shot 3-for-3 from three-point range. 23 of his points came in the second half
• Senior Spencer Malloy recorded a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Golden Eagles, shooting 8-for-11 from the field with four assists
• Junior Alec Tabada scored 16 points with seven rebounds and four assists
• USMMA was led by a 21-point performance for DeMarcus Spivey on 9-for-17 shooting from the field while adding six rebounds and four assists
• Drew Zalescik scored 18 points with eight rebounds and five assists for the Mariners, while Isaac Vencel contributed 11 points and a game-high six assists

How it happened:

• USMMA jumped out in front to take an 8-2 lead five minutes into the game, with Zalescik and Clark Castleberry each scoring four points for the visitors
• The Golden Eagles responded to score the next five points to make it a one-point game (8-7) on a basket for sophomore Justin Turner with 14:16 on the clock
• SJLI came within one again (10-9) at the 13:44 mark, then USMMA responded with a 9-2 run to go ahead by eight (19-11) about halfway through the half
• With U.S Merchant Marine Academy leading by four (21-17) with just under eight minutes to go in the half, the visitors extended their lead to double-digits (28-17) with a 7-0 run that was capped by a three for Spivey with 5:49 remaining
• St. Joseph's responded to score eight consecutive points to trim their deficit to three (28-25) at the 2:43 mark, with junior Thomas Bell's three sparking the run
• The Golden Eagles came within one (31-30) on a layup for Malloy with under a minute remaining, before the visitors took a 33-30 lead into the break
• SJLI scored the first four points of the second half to take a 34-33 lead on a jumper for Allen two minutes in
• That possession was the first of nine lead changes in the first six minutes of the half
• With the game tied at 47,  the Golden Eagles took a 50-47 lead on a three for Allen at the 11:36 mark, then USMMA scored the next six points to take back the lead (53-50) with 10:21 on the clock
• In the first 10 minutes of the half, Allen scored 14 of SJLI's 20 points to help the hosts take their first lead since the first possession of the game
• The hosts proceeded to go on a 7-0 run that was capped by a three for Allen at the 8:10 mark to take a four-point lead (57-53)
• Malloy's three-point play shortly after extended the lead to five (60-55), then the Golden Eagles took a lead of eight 65-57 on a layup for Allen with 6:03 on the clock
• U.S. Merchant Marine Academy trimmed the lead to three (65-62) with under five minutes remaining, before another three-point play for Malloy increased the lead to six (68-62)
• 40 seconds later, Malloy connected for another three-point play to put the Golden Eagles ahead by nine (71-62)
• SJLI led by nine again (73-64) on a jumper for Malloy at the 2:29 mark, which represented their largest lead of the game
• The Mariners trimmed the lead to three (75-72) with just under a minute remaining, then cut it to two points (78-76) with 13 seconds to go on a three for Spivey, before a pair of free-throws for Allen gave the Golden Eagles an 80-76 win

Notes:

• St. Joseph's shot 52.5% from the field and 35.7% from beyond the arc
• USMMA posted a 46.2% shooting percentage from the floor and 38.1% from three-point territory
• The Golden Eagles held a 34-32 advantage in points in the paint
• The Mariners out-rebounded the Golden Eagles, 37-31
• SJLI had 14 bench points compared to USMMA's 13

Next up:

The Golden Eagles travel to Purchase College for a conference match-up on Friday, January 26 at 5:00pm.