The Bear Facts

St. Joseph’s Brooklyn will welcome fans back to The Hill Center for the first time in 2022 as they host Manhattanville on Tuesday night.

Last week, the Bears went 0-2 following road defeats to Old Westbury and Merchant Marine. In their loss to the Panthers, Evan Sirakis’ 17 points matched a previous career-best while Joseph Ghotra banked a career-high 14 points of his own. The pair also combined for five rebounds and as many steals. Joe Sheehan accounted for a quarter of the Bears’ rebounds on the night, collecting a personal best 12 caroms. Additionally, Chris Mikos flirted with his second triple-double of the season; finishing with 16 points, 11 boards, and seven assists.

Mikos paced the navy and gray against the Mariners behind 22 points, 14 rebounds, and six dimes. Sirakis, Anderson Beltre, and Chris Williams combined for 22 points of their own as the Bears were able to fend off a pair of USMMA double-digit leads before falling to Kings Point, 73-57.

Mikos overtook Yeshiva’s Gabriel Leifer for most double-doubles in the conference on the year with eight. The New Jersey native is in a three-way tie for second the Skyline in rebound per game (10.1) and remains third in points per game (19.7). 

A victory over the Valiants would be the first in the brief all-time series between the two schools, dating back to 2018.

Valiant Vibes

Manhattanville enters their meeting with SJC Brooklyn as winners of four of their last five and possesses an unblemished 2-0 record against the Bears all-time.

In the Valiants’ 2-1 week, Staten Island native Tommy Lotito shot 56% from the field and averaged 16 points; including a 14-point, five-rebound effort against Mount Saint Vincent on Sunday. Petey Galgano led the way for Manhattanville against the Dolphins behind 18 points and 10 caroms, coming up short in season highs in both categories. The duo, along with Jake Dunn, also forced a pair of steals each. Rookie Jack Scanlon logged season-highs in points (10), field-goal percentage (60%), minutes played (16), and assists (2) in the win. 

Lotito (13.6) and Galgano (10.8) lead Manhattanville in points per game and rank 15th and 23rd in the Skyline, respectively. Galgano averages a near double-double behind a team-leading 7.8 rebounds per night, good for ninth in the conference. Senior forward Chris Brown leads the league with 1.60 blocks per game and 24 total rejections. As a team, the Valiants have committed the fewest turnovers (185), turnovers per game (12.3), and fewest fouls (243) in the Skyline. 

Lotito, Galgano, and Dunn are just three of the nine returning Valiants to feature in their 69-58 win against SJC in February 2020. Manhattanville was led by, now-fifth-year student, Mike Granda’s 16 points and Dunn’s 14 while Lotito pulled eight boards.