Four Players in Double Figures as Bears Handle Culinary

BROOKLYN, NY – The St. Joseph's men's basketball team kicked off a stretch of five straight HVMAC games with a convincing win over the Culinary Institute of America, 80-51. Four players scored in double figures and senior Jon Matzelle (Maspeth, NY/St. Francis Prep) played 20 minutes in his first game since the January 5th game at the Prudential Center. The Bears improve to 4-13 on the year and are 2-0 in conference play.

The two teams traded baskets and the lead in the early portion of the game. Culinary jumped out to a five point advantage, 20-15, halfway thru the period, but Thomas Karasinski (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp) sparked a 15-0 run to give the Bears a lead they never relinquished. Karasinski hit two three pointers and Johnny Mendez (Astoria, NY/St. John's Prep) added another during the outburst, three of the ten trifectas the Bears connected on for the game.

Culinary didn't quit though, and brought the Bears lead back into single digits at the half, 35-26. Sophomore Ismael Dabo (Bloomfield, NJ/St. John's Prep) led St. Joseph's with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in the half and also grabbed seven rebounds.

The Bears came out on fire in the second half, connecting on eight of their first 11 attempts from the field to jump on top of the Steels. Dabo and Antoine Forehand (New York, NY/Rice) each had four points as St. Joseph's was able to extend the lead to 19 and put the game out of reach.

Dabo and Karasinski each finished with a game-high tying 12 points. All of Karsinski's points came from behind the arc as he finished 4-for-7 from deep. Dabo and freshman Jan Rogowski (Woodside, NY/St. John's Prep) each had a team-high eight rebounds. Rogowski also chipped in with ten points. Matzelle was the fourth Bear to break into double-digits, he finished with ten points and added six rebounds.

The Steels were led by Dave Hadley and Sammy Sleman who combined for 25 points. Sleman also finished with a game-high 13 rebounds.

St. Joseph's play their second of five straight conference games Thursday, January 25th against Vaughn College. The Bears were 2-0 against the Warriors last season, including a 78-64 win in the HVMAC Championship game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm.