Hot Second Half Leads Bears to Comeback Win Over Gallaudet

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After suffering a tough loss in yesterday's opening round game at the Gallaudet University Holiday Tournament after holding a 13-point halftime lead, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team repaid the favor to the host Bisons, erasing a seven-point halftime deficit to take a 63-57 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Gallaudet Field House.

St. Joseph's (3-2) brings home third-place honors led by sophomore forward David Louison (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund Prep) who recorded his third double-double of the season by way of 16 points and 11 rebounds and was named to the All-Tournament Team for his efforts.  Freshman guard/forward Michael Megafu (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) also turned in his third double-double of the season with 14 points, a team-high 12 rebounds and two blocks.

Junior guard/forward Ian Duff (Jamaica, NY/Christ the King) netted a career-high nine points on 4-of-7 shooting.  Junior guard David Ortiz (Brooklyn, NY/Christ the King) dished out a season-best six assists and senior guard/forward Jan Rogowski (Woodside, NY/St. John's Prep) chipped in eight points.

Gallaudet (2-3) was led by senior center Kelly Danny who turned in game highs of 19 points and 15 rebounds.  Junior forward Orion Palmer netted 12 points with eight rebounds, and senior guard Layton Seeber rounded out three Bison in double-figures with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

It was a game of two halves with Gallaudet connecting on 48 percent (13-27) in the first half to take a 31-24 lead into the lockers. The Bison broke free with a 9-0 run over a three-and-a-half minute span midway through the half to build an 18-9 lead, the largest separation between the two teams in the game.

But the Bears would find the hot hand in the second half, connecting on 48 percent (15-31) and limiting the Bison to 29 percent shooting (8-28). St. Joseph's cut the deficit to one, 34-33, just three minutes into the frame on a Duff trifecta and assembled a 9-0 run capped by a Rogowski triple and a strong Megafu drive to the hoop that gave the Bears a 42-39 advantage, their first lead since the opening basket.

The Bison responded with eight unanswered points sparked by three pointers from Seeber and Ben Coleman, seizing a 47-42 lead just past the midway point in the half. But the Bears stormed ahead with a 13-0 run, powered by six points from Louison and four points from Emitt Hightower (Brooklyn, NY/Immaculata (NJ), and held the Bison scoreless for over five minutes, taking a 55-47 lead that they wouldn't relinquish.

A pair of Kelly free throws cut the Bears lead to three with four minutes remaining, but the Bison would come no closer, Louison adding a putback layup and Vernon Maddox (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) knocking down a jumper and a pair of free throws to help seal the victory.

The Bears protected the ball well committing only six turnovers while their defense combined for 10 steals, five from Hightower, in forcing 17 Bison miscues. St. Joseph's also won the battle inside, outscoring Gallaudet 34-24 inside the paint, and 20-6 in the second half.

St. Joseph's returns to Brooklyn welcoming the College of Mount Saint Vincent on Tuesday, November 27th with a 7:30 pm tip-off. The non-conference tilt begins a stretch of four straight home games at Brooklyn Technical High School.  Live stats and video with Sitesh Shah on the play-by-play will be available at www.SJCBears.com.