When and Where:
February 17, 2024 - Patchogue, NY
Records:
St. Joseph's (L.I.), 13-12, 7-9 Skyline
Mount St. Vincent, 10-15, 8-8 Skyline
Results:
The St. Joseph's University (L.I.) men's basketball team earned an 80-71 win over the University of Mount St. Vincent on Senior Day in their final game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon. Seniors
Ryan McNeely,
Terrin Roy, and
Mark Roberts Jr. were all honored in a pre-game ceremony.
Top performers:
- Junior Alec Tabada scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Golden Eagles, shooting 10-for-17 from the field with eight rebounds, two assists, and two blocks
- Senior Spencer Malloy scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season, while adding four assists
- Freshman Kenny Rodriguez added nine points and 10 rebounds, while junior Xavier Allen contributed 12 rebounds
- Mount St. Vincent was led by a 19-point performance by Conner Wein. He also added three steals
- Adrian Rraci recorded a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Dolphins, while adding a game-high seven assists
How it happened:
- The Golden Eagles held a 10-7 advantage five minutes into the game, with Tabada scoring six of those points
- With 14:54 on the clock, the Dolphins tied the game at 10 on a three for Louis Vidal, before they took their first lead of the game on a pair of free-throws for Kevin Agyemang shortly after
- After a pair of lead changes, a layup for Allen tied the game at 15 with 13:07 on the clock
- Mount St. Vincent went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to take a lead of eight (23-15) with 11 minutes remaining, which was their largest lead of the half, with Wein scoring five points during the run
- The hosts came within three on four separate occasions in a back-and-forth next three minutes, before the visitors took a lead of six (32-26) on a three for Rraci at the 5:40 mark
- St. Joseph's proceeded to score six straight points to tie the game at 32, with sophomore AK Abusaab's three at the 4:44 mark bringing the hosts within one before a Tabada free-throw tied the game
- The Dolphins out-scored SJLI 6-4 in the final three minutes of the half, which put them ahead 38-36 going into the break
- St. Joseph's started the second half strong, going on a 10-2 run in the first four minutes to turn their two-point deficit into a six-point lead (46-40) with 16:13 on the clock. Tabada scored eight of those points
- The Dolphins trimmed their deficit to four (46-42) on a jumper for Rraci, before the Golden Eagles caught fire with an 8-0 run to increase their lead to 12 (54-42) with 13:20 remaining, which was their largest lead of the game. A steal by Tabada resulted in a key three-point basket for McNeely to spark the run
- SJLI had a lead of 10 (56-46) at the 12:32 mark, then Mount St. Vincent went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to three (56-53) with 9:12 on the clock, with Wein's three-point play starting the run
- The Golden Eagles responded by scoring the next six points to go ahead by nine (62-53), then after each team scored five points over the next two and a half minutes, Abusaab hit a jumper to provide SJLI with a double-digit lead (69-58) with under five minutes remaining
- The Golden Eagles maintained a lead of at least seven in the game's final five minutes, before the hosts finished the game with an 80-71 victory to keep their playoff hopes alive
Notes:
- St. Joseph's shot 41.2% from the field and 15% from three-point range
- The Dolphins posted a 33.3% shooting percentage overall and 32.1% from beyond the arc
- SJLI shot 72.4% (21-for-29) on free-throws, while UMSV shot 71.4% (10-for-14) on free-throws
- The Golden Eagles held a 55-35 advantage in rebounds, and out-scored the Dolphins in the paint, 40-22
- St. Joseph's received 27 points from their bench compared to the Dolphins' 23
- There were seven technical fouls handed out, four to MSV and three to SJLI
