Bears Overwhelm King’s; Explode for School-Record 114 Points

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – All 13 Bears recorded a field goal and six finished in double figures as the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team set a new team single-game scoring record in a 114-61 victory over USCAA opponent The King's College on Monday night at Packer Collegiate Institute.

The Bears (10-8) snapped a three-game losing streak and the 53-point margin of victory is the largest of the season. St. Joseph's surpassed the previous scoring record set in 2006 in a 111-103 victory at home over Hesser College, where the three current assistant coaches contributed double digit scoring to the win.

Sophomore David Louison (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund Prep) and freshman Michael Megafu (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) each notched their 11th double-doubles of the season, a category they are both tied ranked No. 3 in Division III. Louison posted 15 points and Megafu scored 12, both pulling down 10 rebounds to share game-high honors.

Also for the Bears, freshman Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund Prep) flirted with a triple-double, dropping in 11 points, swiping eight steals and dishing out seven assists, both game highs, in only 14 minutes of action. The eight thefts fell one shy of matching the single-game record.

Junior Ian Duff (Jamaica, NY/Christ the King), junior David Ortiz (Brooklyn, NY/Christ the King), and senior Thomas Karasinski (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp) also scored 11 points each, Ortiz and Karasinski combining for six of the team season-high-tying 12 trifectas.

Junior Matt Marino (Fort Wayne, IN/Rutherford), freshman Nolan Parr (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook Central) and senior Jan Rogowski (Woodside, NY/St. John's Prep) contributed nine points each. Parr drained three triples to set a new career high, while Marino matched a career-high with seven rebounds and set a new one in assists, dishing out five dimes.

The King's College (2-12) was led by three players in double figures with David Dantzler dropping in a game-high 17 points, Jackson Dunn pouring in 16 and Josiah Chapman contributing 15 points.

St. Joseph's raced out to a 20-5 lead and never trailed in the contest taking a 60-31 lead at intermission behind 52 percent first-half shooting (24-of-46) that included nine three-pointers.

The Bears eclipsed the century mark with 7:38 left in the game on a John Moore (Glendale, NY/Archbishop Molloy) jumper and matched the record with four minutes remaining. But the Bears went scoreless for over three minutes until Marco Diaz Cordova (Richmond Hills, NY/Nazareth Regional) converted a conventional three-point play with 25 seconds left to set the new mark.

The game was a full team effort with all 13 Bears logging double-digit minutes and the bench accounting for 56 points. St. Joseph's dominated all facets of the game holding a commanding 58-29 advantage on the glass and a 31-6 edge in second-chance scoring. The Bears facilitated the ball well ending up with a season-high 29 assist shooting a season-best 51 percent from the field (45-of-88).

Turnovers also played a key part in the decisive victory with the Bears forcing 28 Lion miscues and converted it into a 44-7 advantage in points off turnovers.

St. Joseph's returns to action at home on Wednesday, January 23 welcoming cross-borough rivals Brooklyn College. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Technical High School. Visit SJCBears.com for live video and stats or follow @SJCBears.com on Twitter for updates.