The Bear Facts

SJC Brooklyn returns to The Hill Center to face Old Westbury in the first of back-to-back contests in Clinton Hill. Last Saturday, Chris Mikos came within a point of notching his second triple-double of the season; logging 14 rebounds and 11 assists against SJC Long Island. His efforts, along with Evan Sirakis' 21 and Anderson Beltre's 11 weren't enough as a last-second shot gave the Golden Eagles a one-point win.

Despite a 61-52 halftime lead against Hunter and Mikos’ 49 points on Monday, the Bears' lead evaporated in a high-scoring affair with the Hawks winning 113-104. His point total is tied for fifth-most in a Division III game this season and the most in Joseph Cocozello's 19-year coaching tenure. Sirakis finished with 21 points of his own in the losing effort.

Their last time out, SJC overcame a 28-point deficit against CMSV, cutting it down to five in the final stages of Wednesday's game before falling 76-70 in Riverdale. The trio of Mikos (27), Sirakis (12), and Beltre (11) scored in double figures as all nine Bears who played rattled off field goals.

Mikos' 21.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per outing this season are both good for second in the Skyline. Sirakis joins Mikos in double-figure scoring, averaging 11.9 points a night.

In their meeting with Old Westbury last month, Sirakis and Joe Sheehan registered then-season-high 17 points and 12 boards. Joseph Ghotra finished with a season-best 14 points in a 96-72 defeat.

Pulse on the Panthers

SUNY Old Westbury visits Brooklyn looking to snap a two-game skid.

In their overtime loss to Mount Saint Vincent last Saturday, Charles Wingate – coming off a career-high 35 points in their previous game – scored 15 points; crossing the 1,000-point milestone in the process. Four of the Panthers’ five starters – including sophomores Jonathan Jamieson (20) and Jordan Johnson-Rader (11), as well as Nigel Carter (16) off the bench – scored in double figures in their narrow defeat. Johnson-Rader pulled a game- and season-high 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the campaign. 

Wingate and Zachary Cummings combined to shoot 14-of-29 against No. 15 Yeshiva their last time out, scoring 21 points each. Carter dropped 20 points on 5-of-12 from the floor but their efforts weren’t enough as the Maccabees rebounded from their first Skyline loss since February 2019.

Cummings (19.5, 4th) and Wingate (17.2, 6th) see themselves in the conference top 10 in scoring with Jamieson (14.0) not far behind in 12th. Johnson-Radar (6.9) and Jamieson (5.1) crack the top 25 in rebounding; coming in at 13th and T-23rd, respectively.

Carter’s 20 points led a Panther trio in double-figures as they overwhelmed the Bears in their January meeting. Carl Damour finished with 19 while Wingate totaled 18.

With a conference mark of 5-8 (9-11 overall), Old Westbury sits fifth in the South Division, and are two games out of playoff position, behind Mount Saint Vincent, with three games remaining.