Men's Basketball Gameday: Bears vs. Drew

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- St. Joseph's (7-5) looks to extend their winning streak to five games as they host Drew University (5-5) at Brooklyn Technical High School for a 5 p.m. tip on Saturday, January 4th.

Live Coverage

Watch the game live at http://www.sjcbears.com/sports/mbkb/live-video with Sitesh Shah calling the action or follow the action online with live stats available at http://www.sjcbears.com/livestats. Updates can also be found via @SJCBears on Twitter and Instagram.

Series History / Last Meeting

Drew leads the all-time series 1-0 having defeated the Bears 75-64 on their home court January 7, 2012.

Despite a pair of double-doubles by David Louison and Michael Megafu, St. Joseph's dropped a 75-64 decision to the Rangers to open the second half of the season.

Drew raced out to a 22-10 lead nine minutes in and held a double-digit advantage for most of the game. The Rangers held a 41-25 advantage heading into the locker room.

A Louison layup off a Vernon Maddox feed brought the lead down to eight, 66-58, with just over two minutes to play, but the Bears couldn't get any closer as Drew sunk 9-of-12 from the charity stripe in the final minutes to seal the victory.

The Bear Facts

Last Time Out: St. Joseph's earned a thrilling 87-84 overtime win at CCNY on Monday, their fourth in a row to end 2013. The Bears were led by Megafu and Louison who each recorded a double-double in a game that saw 12 ties and 20 lead changes.

St. Joseph's enters the New Year on a four-game winning streak and have won five of their last six games with their sights set on qualifying for the USCAA National Tournament for the second consecutive year.

Louison, this week's AD3I and HVIAC Player of the Week, leads the Bears in scoring averaging 15.6 points per game to go along with 8.5 rebounds per game. The junior has stepped up his play over St. Joseph's four-game winning streak putting up 19.3 points per game while shooting an efficient 50.0 percent from the floor. The forward has also contributed two double-doubles during the stretch to bring his season total to five.

Teaming up with Louison in the frontcourt is Megafu who is second on the team averaging 15.2 points per game while leading the Bears on the glass with 9.8 boards per game. The sophomore has a team-high seven double-doubles on the year and leads the team shooting an efficient 56.9 percent from the field.

Sophomore Matt O'Neill continues to battle back from his slump to start the season averaging 13 points per game over his last seven games, a stretch in which St. Joseph's has gone 5-2, to see his scoring average rise to 9.8 points per game. The guard fills out the stat sheet averaging 2.5 caroms per game, 2.2 helpers per game and leads the team with 2.4 steals per game.

Ranger Facts

Last Time Out: Drew ended 2013 with a 70-63 triumph over Regis College on Monday at the Tampa Bay Shootout. The Rangers shot 50 percent from the field and were led by Mike Klinger and John Ford who each scored 18 points.

Drew, picked sixth in the Landmark coaches' poll, won two of their last three games to end the year following a three-game losing streak. The Rangers struggle on the glass owning the second worst rebounding margin in the Landmark Conference at -8.3.

Klinger, the second leading scorer in the Landmark, paces Drew on the offensive end of the floor averaging 19.1 points per game, dishing out 3.4 assists per game and corralling 4.6 boards per game.

Rounding out the trio of Rangers who average double figures in scoring are Jason Huelbig and Ford who contribute 12.2 and 11.0 points per game, respectively.

Did You Know?

The Bears are undefeated at home this season posting a 3-0 mark at Brooklyn Technical High School.

Team Comparison

Bears	Nickname	Rangers
7-5 (2-0)	Record	5-5 (0-0)
HVIAC	Conference	Landmark
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
David Louison (15.6)	Top Pts.	Mike Klinger (19.1)
Michael Megafu (9.8)	Top Reb.	Chris Capelli (5.1)
Vernon Maddox (4.8)	Top Ast.	Mike Klinger (3.4)
69.1 (+6.8)	Scoring	70.6 (-2.8)
39.8%	FG %	42.2%
60.2%	FT %	71.0%
26.5%	3FG %	33.1%
39.8 (-4.8)	Rebounds	35.2 (-8.3)
13.9	Assists	10.5
13.6 (+5.8)	Turnovers	14.0 (-2.5)
9.6	Steals	4.9
4.4	Blocks	4.8