Bears Erase 17 Point Deficit but Fall to SMCC in Barn Burner

BROOKLYN, NY – Senior Larry Fawcett (Middle Village, NY/Christ the King) knocked down eight three-pointers scoring a career-high 31 points to lead four Bears in double-figures as the #18 St. Joseph's College men's basketball team fell to #10 Southern Maine CC in a high-tempo, run-and-gun USCAA tilt on Monday afternoon.

Fawcett's eight triples (on 13 attempts) ranks second most by a Bear behind TJ Barnes's nine trifectas against Central Maine CC in 2005 and is the fourth 30+ point game in the Coach Cocozello era.  He scored 18 of his points in the second half sparking the Bears comeback.  The senior guard also set another career high, pulling down seven caroms.

Despite Fawcett's career game, it was a team effort with juniors Jon Matzelle (Maspeth, NY/St. Francis Prep) and Justin Gist (Newsome, FL/Newsome) turning in double-double performances.  Matzelle amassed 23 points and grabbed a team-high 15 rebounds (10 defensive) for his third straight double-double and fifth this season.  Matzelle also eclipses the 500 rebound plateau, sitting at 504 career rebounds.  Gist tallied a season-high 18 points and set career-highs in rebounds (11) and assists (7) for his first career double-double.

Senior forward Wilkerson Exantus (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth) chipped in 13 points, all coming in the second half, on 6-for-7 shooting and had seven rebounds.  

For Southern Maine CC (9-8), Junior Coleman Findlay led five Seawolves in double figures with a 21 point, 16 rebound double-double.  Freshman Paul Holland also netted 21 points, with all his field goal attempts coming from behind the arc, shooting 6-for-13 from distance.  Junior Michael Burchill also hit for five three-pointers, adding 18 points while sophomore Jeff Winnie chipped in 14 points, shooting a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.  

Matzelle started the scoring with a putback layup in the Bears opening possession, but that would be their only lead of the half as Southern Maine CC came out launching, connecting on their first 5-of-7 attempts, all from behind the arc, to score the next 16 points unanswered.  St. Joseph's did well to weather the storm, and a Fawcett trifecta cut the deficit to one, 25-24, with nine minutes remaining in the half.  However the Seawolves, who combined for 10 three-pointers in the half, launched another deep attack extending their lead to 17 before taking a 54-42 advantage at the intermission.

St. Joseph's opened the second stanza with an 11-1 run, cutting the deficit to two.  Trailing 75-68 midway through the period, Fawcett drained three of his five second-half triples and Exantus added seven points as the Bears put together a 16-0 run to take their second lead of the game and build a nine point advantage.  The Bears held onto the lead for seven and a half minutes in the second half, until the Seawolves equalized the game at 99-99 with 2:36 remaining.  During the waning minutes, St. Joseph's couldn't get their shots to fall, while SMCC made two field goals and extended their lead from the free throw line, shooting a perfect 8-for-8 in the final minute.

Both teams hoisted over 90 shots each, with more than half of SMCC's attempts coming from three-point land.  The Seawolves finished with 16 three-pointers, the most surrendered by St. Joseph's in team history.  The Bears connected on 50 percent of their attempts in the second half (23-for-46) and their 60 second half points is the most ever in a half in Bears' history.

The Bears' 102 total points is the fourth game crossing the 100 point barrier and first since a 104-79 USCAA win over Briarcliffe in 2006.  The record for most points is 111 during a win over Hesser in the 2005-06 season which also holds the record for most combined points (214).

St. Joseph's (2-11) returns to the hardwood on Wednesday, January 20th, travelling to Hartford, Connecticut for a non-conference tilt against Trinity College.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.