Bears Fall to Salve Regina at Mitchell Showcase

NEW LONDON, CT – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team lost to Salve Regina University, 60-56, in the second game of the Mitchell College Tipoff Tourney Showcase on Saturday afternoon at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Justin Gist (Brooklyn, NY/Newsome) netted 14 points to lead St. Joseph's (1-2) and was 4-for-6 from three-point range.  David Louison (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund's Prep), David Ortiz (Brooklyn, NY/Christ the King) and Ismael Dabo (Long Island City, NY/St. John's Prep) chipped in eight points apiece. Louison and Jan Rogowski (Woodside, NY/St. John's Prep) each grabbed seven boards to share team-high honors.

Ryan Birrell led all scorers with 17 points to pace the Seahawks (1-1) and filled the stat line with eight rebounds, five assists, five steals and a block.

Birrell got Salve Regina off to a quick start, scoring seven of the team's first nine points while recording an assist on the other two. The Seahawks led 9-5 after the first five minutes of play, but the Bears pulled ahead behind a 13-2 run over a 3:22 stretch that gave them their biggest lead at 18-11 with 10:22 to play in the half.

Salve Regina took the lead back for good on a three-pointer by Joshua Fuhrmeister that made it 30-28 with 2:11 to play in the stanza. The sophomore big man buried another trey the next time down the floor and later tacked on a pair of free throws to increase the margin to seven at 35-28. St. Joseph's cut the deficit to five on a Dabo layup in the final minute to trail 35-30 at the break.

Birrell scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half as Salve Regina shot 39 percent and held a 27-18 edge on the glass. Gist, Dabo and Louison each had six points at intermission to lead St. Joseph's, which shot 36 percent from the floor.

St. Joseph's trailed the entire second half but kept it close throughout, as neither team held more than a seven point advantage. Down 54-47 with 6:58 remaining, the Bears scored six straight points and closed the gap to one on a three-pointer by Gist with 3:57 to go.

Salve Regina had gone 4:30 without a point before Birrell came through with a tough drive to the hoop for a contested lay-in, extending the lead to 56-53 with 2:26 left on the clock. The Seahawks later dodged a bullet when the Bears got a clean look for a game-tying three-pointer from the corner, but the shot drew iron and the rebound was corralled by Joshua Hohlfelder.

The Seahawks sank four free throws in the final 23 seconds to close out the win.

Louison, who averaged 8.5 points and 9.0 rebounds for the tournament, was named to the All-Tournament Team. The Tipoff Tourney Showcase will wrap up on Sunday when Mitchell hosts Salve Regina at 2 p.m.

St. Joseph's returns to the hardwood on Monday, November 21 hosting USCAA foes Vermont Technical College in their home opener at Brooklyn Technical High School. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.