Six Bears in Double Figures as St. Joseph’s Routs Gryphons

BROOKLYN, NY – St. Joseph's had a season high six players score in double figures as they improve to 4-1 in the Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference and 6-15 overall with a dominating 98-54 win over Sarah Lawrence. The last time the Bears had six players with 10+ points was just over a year ago to the day, February 1st, 2010, against CCNY.

Heading into the final stretch of the regular season, the Bears appear to be peaking at the right time. They are winners of three of their last four and the 98 points Thursday night was a season high. St. Joseph's was a whopping 40-74 from the floor, shooting over 50% for the first time this season and for the first time since the season opener way back in the 2008-2009 season.

Sarah Lawrence remained close in the early portion, trailing 11-10 with 14:42 remaining, but once the Bears pushed the lead to ten it was all but over. St. Joseph's led at the half 54-19. The 35 point difference is the largest point disparity of any half in the Coach Cocozello era.

The starters didn't last very long, with only freshman Jan Rogowski (Woodside, NY/St. John's Prep) playing more than 15 minutes, which meant plenty of time for the guys off the bench. Every player on the roster logged at least ten minutes of court time for the first time this season.

Of the six players in double-digits, four came off the bench. The leader for the Bears was freshman Joe Mendez (Glendale, NY/St. Francis Prep) who had a career high 13 points in 20 minutes. Sophomore Martin Torres (Ozone Park, NY/St. Francis Prep) and junior Dhiraj Bhakta (Glendale, NY/Bishop Loughlin) also had career nights as they put up 12 points apiece. The two combined to go 11-for-17 from the field, Torres a very efficient 5-for-6.

The sextuplet was rounded out by Rogowski's 10 points, Antoine Forehand (New York, NY/Rice) (11) and Thomas Karasinski (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp) (10).

The Bears were in the giving spirit as they dished out a season's best 28 assists, led by Johnny Mendez (Astoria, NY/St. John's Prep) with six. The 28 assists are the most since the team had 33 in a win over Briarcliffe on December 6th, 2006. St. Joseph's also took great care of the ball, committing the fewest turnovers (eight) since they lost seven against Centenary in a game exactly one year after their 33 assist game.

Sarah Lawrence was led by Max Mallory who had a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds.

St. Joseph's completes their conference schedule on Saturday, February 5th against Albany Pharmacy. The game is part of the double-header with the women and is scheduled to tip off at 6:00 pm.