Bears Dice Culinary in HVMAC Opener

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Led by six Bears in double figures and a pair of double-doubles from sophomore David Louison (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund Prep) and freshman Michael Megafu (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional), the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team captured a 95-51 victory over the Culinary Institute of America on Saturday afternoon.

The Bears (9-5, 1-0 HVMAC) snap a two-game skid in their Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference opener and first home game of 2013. The Steels (3-4, 2-2) drop their second straight league game in their first game of 2013.

Louison and Megafu each notched their ninth double-doubles of the season, a category they are both tied ranked No. 4 in Division III. Louison posted 11 points with a game-high 13 rebounds while Megafu scored a game-high 15 points with 10 caroms. 

Also for the Bears, who tallied a season-high in points, senior Jan Rogowski (Woodside, NY/St. John's Prep) and freshman Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund Prep) added 14 points each and senior Thomas Karasinski (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp) chipped in 11, the trio combining for 10 of the Bears season-best 12 trifectas in the contest.

Junior Matt Marino (Fort Wayne, IN / Rutherford) netted 10 points and sophomore Chris Labady (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund Prep) finished with a near double-double with eight point and 11 rebounds.

Junior John Moore (Glendale, NY/Archbishop Molloy) grabbed 11 boards, scored career-high-tying seven points and swatted away a game-high five shots, setting a new Bears single-game record.  As a team, the Bears also set a new record for rebounds -- four Bears finishing with double-digit boards --holding a commanding edge on the glass, 73-36. 

Culinary was led by 12 points from junior Wayne McFarlane and nine points from from sophomore center Travis Prank.

St. Joseph's raced out to a 9-0 lead and never trailed in the contest taking a 50-22 lead at the intermission behind 43 percent first-half shooting.

With the game firmly in control, all 13 Bears saw double-digit minutes with 10 scoring a field goal, the bench accounting for 41 points. The Bears dominated inside with a 44-18 advantage in paint scoring and a 34-6 edge in second-chance points.

St. Joseph's returns to action on January 14 welcoming Brooklyn foes Medgar Evers College for a Monday night doubleheader. The Lady Bears lead off the action at 7 pm with the Bears following at 9 pm. Live video and stats for both games will be available on SJCBears.com.