Bears Erase 17 Point Deficit, But Comeback Bid Against Lehman Falls Short

BROOKLYN, NY – Trailing by 17 with 10:27 left to play, the St. Joseph's went on a 21-4 run to tie Lehman College (3-5) 68-68 with 2:43 remaining, however the Lightning pulled away in the closing minutes to defeat the Bears 78-71 on Saturday night at Brooklyn Technical High School.  Junior Jon Matzelle (Maspeth, NY/St. Francis Prep) led four Bears in double figures recording his first double-double (21 points, 10 rebounds) of the season.

The game remained tight throughout the first half but Lehman attempted to pull away, building a seven point lead on three separate occasions.  St. Joseph's hung tough, trading baskets with the Lightning, and a triple from senior Larry Fawcett (Middle Village, NY/Christ the King) just before the buzzer sent the Bears into the locker room trailing by two, 43-41.

St. Joseph's came out of the lockers with a lackluster effort and committed six turnovers in the first four minutes of the half finding themselves quickly down 13 points.  The Bears cut the deficit to single digits, but back-to-back Lehman three pointers helped extend the lead back up to its largest margin of 17, before the St. Joseph's comeback.

During the Bears 21-4 run, Matzelle scored nine of his 11 second-half points and tied the game at 68-68 with a putback layup following his own missed shot.  After tying the game, St. Joseph's turned the ball over on three straight possessions to allow Lehman to jump out to a six point lead with one minute remaining.  Senior Lew Monaco (Staten Island, NY/Msgr. Farrell) hit a trifecta with 0:46 to cut the lead in half, but with St. Joseph's forced to foul to regain possession, would not get any closer.

St. Joseph's held an advantage in shooting (46.8-44.1) and in rebounding (41-38), but did not win the turnover battle (17-24) and points off turnovers (18-27).  The Bears have found the shooting touch at home, leading the opposition and shooting a combined 48.0% in both games.

Sophomore Antoine Forehand (New York, NY/Rice) tallied 16 points and four rebounds, his third game this season in double figures.  Monaco finished 11 points on 3-for-9 shooting from behind the arc and added four rebounds.  Freshman Cesar Madera added a season-high 10 points while dishing out a game-high four assists in his first start of the season.  Sophomore Dom Orlando pulled down tying game-high 10 rebounds coming off the bench.

For Lehman College, all five starters finished in double-figures with the bench only contributing seven points.  Jonathan DeJesus (Hormigueros, Puerto Rico/Mt. St. Michael) led the Lightning with 18 points and nine rebounds and Mathias Raggiotto (Greenacres, FL/John I. Leonard) finished with a 14 point, 10 rebound double-double.

St. Joseph's (1-6) returns to the hardwood on Monday, December 7th travelling back to New Jersey for the third time this season to face Rutgers-Camden in a non-conference matchup.  Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.