Bears Comeback Falls Short Against Division I NJIT

NEWARK, NJ - Trailing 36-19 after one half, it looked like the St. Joseph's men's basketball team was in for a repeat of last season's 42 point loss at Division I New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). But Donald Coleman (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth) helped bring the Bears back into the game with a 14 point second half. St. Joseph's would come from behind twice down double digits to get within three and four points, but couldn't overcome the 17 point halftime deficit and ultimately fell 65-57.

The Bears shot a measly 7-for-30 (23.3%) and 2-for-9 (22.2%) from three in the first half as the Highlanders opened up an early 20-12 lead. NJIT would extend that lead to as much as 19 and head into the half up 17.

The second half though, was a different story. St. Joseph's, which has had trouble shooting from behind the arc this season, hit an incredible 71% in the second half (10-for-14) to get back into the game.

In the blink of an eye St. Joseph's cut that 17 point Highlander lead to three, thanks to a 19-5 run to open the half. The Bears were sparked by five three pointers during the run, three by Coleman and two by Thomas Karasinski (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp), including three within a 61 second span.

NJIT was forced to use a timeout with 14:24 to go in what was suddenly a one possession game. The Highlanders were able to regroup and regained a double digit lead with 10:43 remaining in the game. Jheryl Wilson scored five straight points coming out of the timeout to help NJIT.

The Highlanders maintained a three possession lead until 3:15 left in the game when Coleman hit his fourth three pointer of the half to cut the lead to five. A three pointer by Johnny Mendez (Astoria, NY/St. John's Prep) brought the Bears to within four with 61 seconds to play, but St. Joseph's was forced to foul and the Highlanders were a perfect 4 -for-4 from the line down the stretch to seal the victory.

Coleman finished with a game-high 16 points and Karasinski, seeing his most extensive action of the year, chipped in with a season-high 13 for the Bears, who drop to 2-4 with the loss.  Karasinski also drew the defensive assignment of guarding newly minted 1000 point scorer Chris Flores and limited him to seven points.  Sophomore Jan Rogowski (Woodside, NY/St. John's Prep) had a solid all-around game scoring nine points, with six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Highlanders were led by P.J. Miller's 12 points, while Wilson scored nine of his own and snatched eight rebounds.

St. Joseph's remain on the road as they travel to the Bronx to battle Lehman College in a non-conference tilt. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.