Bears Defeat Vassar in Home Opener, 63-56

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Powered by sophomore forward David Louison (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund Prep) who recorded his second double-double of the season with game highs of 17 points and 14 rebounds, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team defeated Vassar College, 63-56, on Tuesday evening at Brooklyn Technical High School in their 2012 home opener.

The Bears improve to 2-1 with the victory, snapping a two-game skid in home openers at Brooklyn Technical High School. Vassar falls to a matching 2-1 record, suffering their first loss of the season.

Also for the Bears, senior Jan Rogowski (Woodside, NY/St. John's Prep) added 14 points connecting on 6-of-12 from the field and 2-of-4 from behind the arc.  Sophomore Vernon Maddox (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) contributed 11 points and three assists off the bench helping St. Joseph's to a 17-13 edge in bench scoring. 

Vassar finished with four Brewers scoring in double figures led by a pair of double-double efforts from sophomore Alex Snyder who had 15 points and 13 rebounds and junior Evan Carberry who scored 11 points with a matching 11 rebounds.

A three-pointer from Jon Herzog off the opening tip gave Vassar their only lead, but the Bears countered with a Louison layup and a jumper and trifecta from Rogowski to score seven unanswered and never trailed again.

St. Joseph's extended to as many as 11 points, 30-19, but a three-pointer from John Donnelly sparked a 7-2 run to close the half and the Bears carried a 32-26 into the lockers.

Vassar would slowly chip away at the Bears lead in the second half, St. Joseph's never able to extend past their six-point halftime advantage.  A conventional three-point play by Snyder midway through the half clipped the Bears lead to one and John Donnelly went 1-for-2 on the Brewers ensuing possession to knot the game at 44-all.

After both teams traded baskets, St. Joseph's jumped ahead for good with a 6-0 run over a two-and-a-half minute span, taking a 52-46 lead. 

A Maddox jumper with just over two minutes to play gave St. Joseph's their largest lead of the half, 60-52, but pair of layups from Snyder brought Vassar within four with under a minute to play, but would come no closer, unable to record a another field goal, and the Bears sealing the victory at the line.

Maddox scored nine of his 11 points in the second stanza. Named Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week earlier in the day, Michael Megafu (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) also tallied nine points in the second half after being held scoreless in the opening frame.

St. Joseph's returns to the hardwood on Friday, November 23 heading south to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Gallaudet Thanksgiving Tournament. The Bears will face Valley Forge Christian in their open round game at 8 p.m. and will face either Salisbury or Gallaudet on Saturday.  Live stats and video for both games in D.C. can be accessed via www.SJCBears.com.