Louison Scores 1000th Point, Megafu Records 7th Straight Double-Double as Men's Basketball Tops Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Highlighted by a pair of 30-point double-doubles and the 1000th career point for junior forward David Louison (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep), the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team defeated Brooklyn College, 88-75, on Monday evening at Brooklyn Technical High School.

Louison and Michael Megafu (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) posted 30 points each, one shy of their career bests, to lead St. Joseph's (8-7) to their first win over the Bulldogs (3-10) since 2006. Megafu paired his season high with a game-high 15 rebounds to extend his double-double streak to seven games and 10 overall this season. Louison matched his season high and coupled it with 10 caroms for his seventh double-double of the season.

The Bulldogs were paced by Jamel Gist's game-high 36 points and Egzon Gjonbalaj added 13 points and eight rebounds.

The borough foes went back-and-forth early until a 10-2 run over three-and-a-half minutes broke an 11-all tie and gave the Bears the lead for good. The Bulldogs trimmed the deficit to four with under five minutes before the break, before the Bears scored nine unanswered and took a double-digit lead, 37-25, into the lockers at intermission.

With the visitors looking to stop Louison, who scored 16 first half points to put him on pace to reach the milestone, Megafu exploded for 21 points in the second half leading a 65 percent (15-23) team-shooting effort from the field and 81 percent shooting (21-26) from the free throw line helping the Bears maintain their double-digit advantage, ballooning the lead to as many as 20 with two minutes left.

As the clock ticked down, it appeared that Louison would have to wait another game to reach the milestone, but with just over one minute left, the power forward reached it in style completing a three-point play, reaching the mark with the made free throw.

TURNING POINT

Leading 24-20 with 4:45 before the break, Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) found a cutting Louison and pickpocketed the Bulldogs on the ensuing possession for a fast-break layup, sparking a 9-0 run over 1:35 that gave the Bears a double-digit cushion. Louison would score five points during the spurt with eight of the nine points coming on layups.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Other contributors: Vernon Maddox (9 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast) Matt O'Neill (7 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl)
• The Bears' shot a season-best 52.6 percent (30-57) from the field and season-best 70.3 percent (26-37) from the line.
• The Bears' overcame a season-worst 25 turnovers that the Bulldogs converted into 19 points.
• St. Joseph's controlled the glass 50-37 and outscored BC in the paint, 48-32. 
• St. Joseph's dished out 18 assists on their 30 field goals with five different Bears handing out at least three assists.

THE BEAR FACTS

• The Bears snapped a seven-game losing streak to Brooklyn College. Brooklyn holds a 10-4 edge in the series since 2002.
• Louison's and Megafu's 30-point efforts were the first time two Bears scored 30-or-more points in the same game.
• Louison reached the 1000-point plateau in 71 games, now averaging 14.1 points per game for his career.
• Eight Bears have reached the 1000-point milestone under Coach Cocozello. The last Bear to reach the mark was Justin Gist '12 in January 2012. (Justin is the brother of Brooklyn's Jamel Gist who netted game-high honors.)
• Megafu's 12 made free throws ranks second all-time, three shy of the single-game record.
• O'Neill swiped his 100th career steal. His 2.3 thefts per game currently ranks second all-time.
• Maddox's six rebounds was a career best

NEXT UP FOR THE BEARS - VALLEY FORGE CHRISTIAN

The Bears home game vs. John Jay on Saturday, January 18th has been postponed with a makeup date to be announced later. St. Joseph's opens a stretch of four straight road games against Valley Forge Christian College on Wednesday, January 22nd at 8 p.m.