Brooklyn College Bulldogs Past Bears

BROOKLYN, NY – The St. Joseph's College men's basketball team could not snap Brooklyn College's 11-game winning streak, falling 99-77 on the road on Monday night.  Junior Jon Matzelle (Maspeth, NY/St. Francis Prep) and senior Wilkerson Exantus (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth) both recorded double-doubles, leading the Bears in defeat.

Matzelle amassed 20 points and 19 rebounds (11 offensive) for his seventh double-double this season.  His 19 caroms falls one short of the all-time record and matches Mike Dziewit (Ridgewood, NY/Wadleigh) total from one week ago.

Exantus tallied 14 points and 13 rebounds for his second straight double-double and sixth of his career.  Junior guard Justin Gist (Newsome, FL/Newsome) added 16 points and senior guard Lew Monaco (Staten Island, NY/Msgr. Farrell) chipped in 14 points, dishing out five assists and draining four three-assists.

Rich Jean-Baptiste paced Brooklyn College (17-5, 10-1 CUNYAC) with a 24 point, 11 rebound double-double.  Darnell Cudjoe pulled down a game-high 18 rebounds and added 11 points.  Daniel Nisbett scored 19 and Thomas Guerin added 14 points and fell one assist shy of a double-double.

The Bears were no match for the defending CUNYAC champions.  The Bulldogs were also the third NCAA tournament qualifier (St. Joseph's-LI, Widener) St. Joseph's has faced this season.  Brooklyn College jumped out to a 32-9 lead by the midway point of the opening period to build their largest lead of the half.  St. Joseph's fought back and Monaco scored eight straight points over a three minute span to help cut the deficit to seven with three minutes remaining in the half.

St. Joseph's cut a 49-37 point halftime deficit to nine points on multiple occasions, but Brooklyn College turned utilized a 21-7 run to extend their lead to 23 points and the Bears never threatened again.

St. Joseph's (7-14, 5-0 HVMAC) snaps a three-game winning streak.  They return to action on Wednesday, February 10, closing out Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference play against Pratt Institute.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Pratt Institute.