Bears Capture HVMAC Basketball Championship

ALBANY, NY –The St. Joseph's College men's basketball team captured their second Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference championship, defeating #3 Vaughn College 78-62.  Junior Justin Gist (Newsome, FL/Newsome) scored 27 points and was named tournament MVP.

Gist scored 27 points for the second straight game on 10-for-24 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.  He also dished out five assists and four rebounds, both game highs.  Senior Mike Dziewit (Ridgewood, NY/Wadleigh) finished his career scoring a season-high 15 points grabbing seven rebounds.  Senior Lew Monaco (Staten Island, NY/Msgr. Farrell) added 14 points and sophomore Antoine Forehand (New York, NY/Rice) chipped in 12, while junior Jon Matzelle (Maspeth, NY/St. Francis Prep) pulled down nine rebounds.

Jihad Cesar led Vaughn College with 22 points and Jerome Chan added 14 points, netting four three pointers.  Levar Smith recorded an 11 point, 14 rebound double-double.

Vaughn College carried the momentum of their comeback overtime win over Albany Pharmacy that earned them a spot in the championship game, going back and forth with St. Joseph's and taking a slim early lead.  At the midway point in the half, the Bears went on a 10-0 run, to take a seven point lead which they extended to a 37-25 lead at the break.

In the second stanza, the Bears led by as many as 17 with seven minutes remaining and Vaughn went on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to single digits, but St. Joseph's went a perfect 14-for-14 from the free throw line in the final minutes to hold off the Warriors.

In ceremonies after the game, Monaco, Matzelle and Gist were named to the 2009-10 All-Conference team.  Coach Joseph Cocozello also was named 2009-10 Coach of the Year.

St. Joseph's concludes their 2009-10 campaign with a record of 10-16 and accomplishing one of their primary goals – to capture the HVMAC title which has eluded them in previous years.