Bears Topple Culinary, Advance to HVMAC Championship

ALBANY, NY – Junior Justin Gist (Newsome, FL/Newsome) scored a game-high 27 points and senior Mike Dziewit (Ridgewood, NY/Wadleigh) added 13 to lead the St. Joseph's College men's basketball team to the 2010 Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference championship game, defeating Culinary Institute of America 73-58 on Saturday afternoon at the Albert M. White Gymnasium.

Gist shot 10-for-19 from the field and swiped a game-high tying four steals.  Dziewit also grabbed a team-high tying eight rebounds, sharing the honor with Wilkerson Exantus (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth).  Sophomore guard Antoine Forehand (New York, NY/Rice) chipped in 10 points and dished out a career-high seven assists.

Sophomore forward/center Corey Johnson, reigning HVMAC Rookie of the Week, led #4 Culinary (6-8) with a 24 point, 11 rebound double-double.  Junior forward/center Victor Lane added 14 points, the only other Steel to finish in double figures. 

The Bears opened with a 47 percent (18-for-38) shooting frame to take a 39-28 lead at the break.  A three-pointer by Juan-Carlos Valadez cut the Bears lead to eight at the 15:19 mark of the second-half, but St. Joseph's went on a 14-4 run to open an 18 point lead that wouldn't be challenged.

St. Joseph's (9-16) looks to capture their second HVMAC championship, advancing to their seventh straight title game.  The Bears will face #3 Vaughn College, who advances to their first title game by virtue of defeating #2 Albany Pharmacy in overtime, 67-66, erasing a 19 point second-half deficit.  Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.  Fans can listen to the live audio broadcast at http://www.allinbroadcasting.com.