Bears Comeback Bid Falls Short in HVMAC Title Game

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – After erasing an 18-point deficit and building a four-point lead with five minutes to play, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team fell to Berkeley College, 71-67, in the 2013 Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference (HVMAC) championship game on Sunday afternoon at The College of New Rochelle Wellness Center.

The loss snaps the Bears' (16-11) six-game winning streak while the Knights (15-7) capture their third-straight league title, both squads squaring off in seven-of-the-last-eight league championships.

St. Joseph's placed four players in double figures, led by David Louison's (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund Prep) game-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, his third game this season with 20-plus points. Freshman Michael Megafu (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) recorded his 15th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Junior Ian Duff (Jamaica, NY/Christ the King) and freshman Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund Prep) contributed 13 points each.

Berkeley was paced by tournament MVP who recorded a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double before fouling out of the game. Jovan Bovell shared team-high honors with Stable with 19 points and five rebounds and Danzel Whyte fell one point shy of a double-double with nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

With the teams separated by two midway through the opening half, Berkeley used a 10-2 run over two minutes with Stable contributing seven points over the spurt and built a double-digit advantage with 7:13 until the break. Another 10-2 spurt extended the lead to 18 at 2:24 before the Knights carried a 44-27 advantage into the lockers. Berkeley shot 55 percent in the opening half and maintained a 28-12 edge on the glass in the half, Louison forced to sit out with three fouls.

Four minutes into the second half Duff scored nine points during a 12-0 run over four minutes that shrank the Knights lead to four, 49-45, at the 12 minute mark.

Berkeley pushed their lead back to seven, but the Bears countered with nine straight points to take their first lead, 56-54, with seven minutes to play. Louison powered the spurt scoring seven points including a three-point play that knotted the game at 54-all.

After two more ties, Duff sank two from the line after fouled on a three-point attempt and Megafu dropped in a pair from the stripe to give the Bears their largest lead of the game 62-58, but Stable responded with a three-point play and a trey to put the Knights back on top with 4:22 left.

With the game later tied at 67-all and less than a minute to play, Bovell took a rebound and dribbled coast-to-coast for a layup that put the Knights up two with 37 seconds remaining. On the Bears' next possession Bovell secured a rebound and was fouled, sinking both at the line for the final difference.

In the second stanza, the Bears swiped nine steals and forced 14 Berkeley turnovers, which they converted into 11 points, and the defense held the Knights to just 29 percent shooting (8-for-28). Louison, Megafu and Duff led the second half charge scoring 11 points each.

St. Joseph's will continue their postseason having qualified for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Tournament, their first bid since 2007. First round action is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, February 27 at Penn State Fayette. Official tournament brackets will be released later this week.