Men's Basketball Sets Team Block Record in Loss to Southern Virginia

BUENA VISTA, Va. – After a tie game at halftime, Southern Virginia University pulled away from the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team to take a 69-54 victory in a United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) matchup on Saturday afternoon at the Knight Sports Arena.

In a game of two halves, the Bears (2-3) led for nearly the entire opening half, building as large as a seven-point advantage, but the Knights (1-3) drew even and led for a total of a minute before both squads went into the lockers tied 27-27.

The Knights would start the second half scoring the first six points and never trailed again as the Bears were hampered by 32.3 percent (10-31) second-half shooting and could never chip away at the deficit.

St. Joseph's was led by Michael Megafu (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) who had 18 points to go along with seven rebounds, four rejections and three steals. Ian Duff (Jamaica, N.Y./Christ the King) added 11 points and six rebounds and David Louison (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) added 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. The trio combined to set a new single-game blocks record of eight rejections surpassing the previous record of seven. 

Southern Virginia was led by Preston Eaton who posted a game-high 28 points.

TURNING POINT

A 6-0 Knights run over two minutes to open the second half gave the hosts a lead they wouldn't relinquish. After the Bears pulled back within three, 35-32, the Knights surged ahead with a 10-4 spurt and eventual ballooning their advantage to double-digits and the Bears would never come closer than seven

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Other contributors: Vernon Maddox (7 pts, 5 ast)
• St. Joseph's struggled shooting all-around finishing just 33.9 percent (21-62) from the field, which included 15 percent (3-20) from behind the arc.
• Southern Virginia won the battle of the boards 48-49 and outscored the Bears in the paint 34-24.

THE BEAR FACTS

• The meeting was the first between the two 2013 USCAA National Tournament squads.
• The previous team single-game blocks record of seven was set twice, last versus St. Joseph's (L.I.) in December 2012.
• Megafu's four blocks was also a career high. 

UP NEXT FOR THE BEARS

St. Joseph's will face another 2013 USCAA National Tournament participant, The Apprentice School tomorrow at noon to conclude their Virginia trip.