Written by Julia Ruocchio
When and Where:
February 7, 2024 - Patchogue, NY
Records:
St. Joseph's (L.I.), 11-11, 5-8 Skyline
SUNY Maritime, 13-9, 8-5 Skyline
Results:
The St. Joseph's University (L.I.) men's basketball team edged SUNY Maritime for a 66-64 win in a conference match-up at the Danzi Center on Wednesday evening. Four players finished with double-digit points for the Golden Eagles.
Top performers:
- Junior Xavier Allen led the Golden Eagles with 15 points, while adding six rebounds and two assists
- Senior Spencer Malloy recorded a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, with a team-high seven assists
- Junior Alec Tabada scored 12 points, and senior Ryan McNeely contributed 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field
- SUNY Maritime was led by a 20-point performance for Jake Murphy
- Theo Noble scored 17 points for the Privateers with five rebounds and a pair of steals
How it happened:
- SUNY Maritime built a 5-2 lead in the game's opening minutes, then the Golden Eagles scored five straight points to take a 7-5 lead, with Senior Terrin Roy's three providing the lead at the 15:42 mark
- With the game tied at seven at the 15:22 mark, St. Joseph's went on an 11-0 run to take a lead of 11 (18-7) at the halfway point in the half. Freshman AJ Esposito scored four points during the run, and Roy scored three
- The Privateers trimmed their deficit to five (20-15) on a three-point play for Jovan Germain with 8:15 on the clock, then the Golden Eagles scored six of the next seven points to increase their lead to 10 (26-16) with 6:04 remaining
- SJLI led by 10 again (28-18) one minute later, then Murphy scored 11 straight points for the Privateers to help the visitors cut the lead to seven on two occasions with three minutes remaining in the half
- With the hosts leading by eight (34-26), Allen hit a buzzer-beater from beyond the arc to provide St. Joseph's with an 11-point lead (37-26) to finish the half
- SUNY Maritime began the second half with a 6-2 run to cut the lead to seven (39-32) two minutes in
- Shortly after, a Malloy layup and a three for Roy put the Golden Eagles back up by 12 (44-32) at the 17:17 mark
- The Privateers responded with an 8-0 run to come within four (44-40) with 14:23 on the clock, with three-point baskets for Noble and Germain fueling SUNY Maritime
- The Golden Eagles scored six of the next eight points to increase their lead to eight (50-42) on a basket for McNeely at the 10:48 mark
- The Privateers came within five (50-45) shortly after, before a three-point play for sophomore Justin Turner put the hosts back ahead by eight (53-45) with 9:19 remaining
- Noble responded with a three 20 seconds later, then SUNY Maritime trimmed their deficit to three (53-50) at the 7:43 mark
- The hosts proceeded to go on a 6-1 run to go back up by eight (59-51), before the Privateers scored the next six points to come back within two (59-57) with less than four minutes remaining
- McNeely and Noble exchanged three-pointers shortly after, then a layup for Murphy tied the game at 62 apiece with 2:06 remaining
- With 39 seconds on the clock, Allen connected with a layup to put the hosts ahead by two (64-62), then Tyler Anderson hit a jumper for the Privateers to knot the game back up at 64 with 17 seconds left
- In the game's final seconds, it was Allen again who delivered with a clutch basket to give St. Joseph's the lead to win the game 66-64
Notes:
- St. Joseph's shot 51.7% from the field and 38.5% from three-point range
- The Privateers posted a 42.6% shooting percentage overall and 33.3% from three-point territory
- The Golden Eagles out-scored SUNY Maritime in the paint, 42-18
- SJLI received 15 bench points compared to the Privateers' eight
- The Privateers held the advantage in rebounds, 33-30
Next up:
The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday, February 10 when they visit U.S. Merchant Marine Academy for a conference match-up at 2:00pm.
