When and Where:

January 25, 2025 - Bronxville, NY

Records:

St. Joseph's (L.I.), 5-12, 4-4 Skyline; UMSV, 6-11, 3-5 Skyline

Results:

The St. Joseph's University (L.I.) men's basketball team held on for a 78-76 win over the University of Mt. St. Vincent in a Skyline Conference conference match-up in the Bronx on Saturday afternoon.

Top performers:

• Junior Matthew Maxwell and senior Alec Tabada led the Golden Eagles with 13 points apiece. Maxwell was 5-for-8 from the field while Tabada matched a team-best nine rebounds

• Sophomore AJ Esposito contributed 12 points off the bench, shooting 3-for-4 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line

• Senior Justin Forest landed in double digits with 11 points 

• The Dolphins were led by a 22-point performance by Alex Chi, who shot 7-for-12 from the field and 7-for-7 on free throws with three assists and two steals.

How it happened:

• Both sides dropped in 10 points through the first five minutes of play with Tabada and Justin Turner recording four points each

• The teams remained evenly matched over the next five minutes remaining within three points of each other until a three from Maxwell and a layup from Esposito put SJLI ahead 24-18 with just over nine minutes on the clock

• The Dolphins outscored the Golden Eagles 15-8 through the latter portion of the first half with Alex Chi hitting from beyond the arc with less than a minute left sending the hosts into the break leading 33-30

• The second half started with an 8-2 giving UMSV their largest lead of the game, 41-32

• St. Joseph's chipped away and a put-back layup from Tabada put the visitors ahead, 44-43, briefly at the 13-minute mark

• The Dolphins regained the lead seconds later via the three from Kevin Agyemang, 46-44

• Mt. St. Vincent's maintained a slight lead until Maxwell knocked down another three with just over three minutes left to play, 69-68

• The teams exchanged buckets in the closing minutes before a pair of free throws from Forest gave the Golden Eagles a slight 77-76 advantage with 25 seconds on the clock

• Tabada was fouled with five seconds left sinking one of two free throws before UMSV's Chi got off a three attempt at the buzzer but was just off the mark and St. Joseph's held on for the 78-76 win

Notes:

• St. Joseph's (L.I.) has not lost a match-up to UMSV since 2020.

• The Golden Eagles shot 38.8% from the field and 41.7% from three-point range

• The Dolphins shot 90% from the free-throw line with SJLI managing 61.5%

• UMSV held the advantage in points in the paint (32-24) while SJLI claimed assists (16-13)

• SJLI stole 20 points off turnovers and the bench contributed 43 points overall

• UMSV totaled four blocks and nine steals with 14 stolen turnovers

Next up:

The Golden Eagles return the nest on Wednesday, January 29th when they host Mt. St. Mary College for a Skyline Conference match-up at 7:00 pm.