Men's Basketball Gameday: Bears vs. Vaughn

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – St. Joseph's (11-8) looks to remain unbeaten in Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) play and win their third game in a row, hosting Vaughn College (11-7) on Thursday, January 30th at 7:30 p.m.

Game Information

Vaughn College (11-7, 4-1 HVIAC) vs.
St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (11-8, 3-0 HVIAC)

Thursday, January 30th • 7:30 p.m.
Brooklyn Technical High School • Brooklyn, N.Y.

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Storylines

• The Bears look to win their fifth game out of their last six to move four games over .500 for the first time this season.
• St. Joseph's tries to continue its reign of dominace over Vaughn, leading the all-time series 7-1, including two wins in a row against the Warriors.
• The Bears looks to continue their impressive shooting that has helped them win four of their last five games. St. Joseph's has shot 49.2 percent (157-of-319) from the field over the stretch to improve their season field goal percentage to 42.3 percent.
• Vaughn looks for their fourth straight win, winning three straight HVIAC games coming into tonight's matchup.
• The Bears try to finish the month of January with a 5-3 record and improve their home record to 5-1 on the season.

Series History

St. Joseph's has dominated the all-time series, maintaining a 7-1 edge against Vaughn, with the lone Warriors victory coming on January 26, 2012 at Brooklyn Tech.

Last Meeting

Headlined by three Bears in double-figures, St. Joseph's defeated Vaughn College, 66-48, on February 6, 2013 at Hostos Community College. The Warriors had a 14-13 lead with 12:34 remaining in the first half, but the Bears would go on an 18-7 run capped off by a pair of David Ortiz trifectas and free throw that gave them the lead for good at 31-21 with 5:56 left in opening stanza.

Jan Rogowski paced the Bears with a game-high 19 points shooting an efficient 8-of-12 from the field while coming down with seven rebounds. David Louison nearly contributed a double-double with 13 points and nine caroms.

The Bear Facts

Last Time Out: Ten different Bears recorded a made field goal, led by a game-high 18 points from Matt O'Neill, as St. Joseph's remained unbeaten in HVIAC play with a 70-25 triumph over Pratt Institute on Tuesday night at the Pratt ARC. Michael Megafu came two rebounds shy of his 13th double-double, concluding the night with 10 points and eight rebounds.

St. Joseph's returns to the friendly confines of Brooklyn Technical High School after concluding their four-game road stand with a 3-1 mark to move three games over .500 on the season. With a win tonight the Bears would finish the month of January with a winning record for the first time since 2007 as they try to make a late season push towards their second consecutive USCAA Tournament appearance, entering the this week ranked No. 12 in the latest coaches' poll.

David Louison has been a force down low for the Bears all season, leading the team with 17.8 points per game to go along with 8.9 rebounds per game. The four-time AD3I Player of the Week is shooting an efficient 52.4 percent from the floor and has nine double-doubles on the year. Over the last nine games the forward has picked up his play, averaging a team-high 22.2 points per game on impressive 58.2 percent (85-of-146) shooting and has averaged 9.2 rebounds per game, leading St. Joseph's to a 6-3 mark.

Adding to the Bears frontcourt production is sophomore Michael Megafu who leads the team with 12 double-doubles on the year, averaging 15.9 points per game and a team-high 10.6 boards per game. The forward is shooting an impressive 54.5 percent from the floor and leads the team with 1.4 blocks per game.

Sophomore Matt O'Neill contributes a career-high 10.9 points per game to the St. Joseph's attack, pouring in 16.8 points per game on 47.3 percent (26-of-55) shooting over his last four games. The guard continues to be a force on the defensive end, leading the team with 2.8 steals per game and is coming off a season-high seven steal game at Pratt. Teaming up with O'Neill in the backcourt is junior Vernon Maddox who averages 9.5 points per game and a team-high 4.3 assists per game.

The Way of the Warrior

Last Time Out: Vaughn defeated HVIAC foe King's 72-38 on Tuesday to improve to 4-1 in conference play.

Vaughn has already surpassed last year's win total of nine and have won three games in a row coming into tonight. The Warriors are trying to make a run towards the USCAA Division II National Tournament, coming into this week ranked No. 18 in the latest coaches' poll. Vaughn thrives on the offensive end of the floor, averaging 77.7 points per game and leads the HVIAC with 110 made threes on the season.

Jeffrey Noel, the leading scorer in the HVIAC, averages 20.0 points per game on 50.9 percent shooting and brings down 5.7 caroms per game. The one-time HVIAC Player of the Week also ranks third in the conference, shooting 35.9 percent from beyond the arc and averages 1.5 steals per game.

This week's HVIAC Player of the Week, Rashad Luckett, averages 14.3 points per game and gives the Warriors another three-point threat, shooting 33.8 percent from beyond the arc. The sophomore leads the team with 2.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

Freshman Michael Pena, a three-time HVIAC Rookie of the Week, also averages double figures, pouring in 17.1 points per game and dishes out 2.6 helpers per game.

Did You Know?

St. Joseph's has not started 4-0 in league play since the 2009-10 season when they finished a perfect 6-0 in conference play.

Team Comparison

Bears	Nickname	Warriors
11-8 (3-0)	Record	11-7 (4-1)
HVIAC	Conference	HVIAC
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
David Louison (17.8)	Top Pts.	Jeffrey Noel (20.0)
Michael Megafu (10.6)	Top Reb.	Eric McDonald (6.1)
Vernon Maddox (4.3)	Top Ast.	Rashad Luckett (2.8)
72.2 (+7.0)	Scoring	77.7 (+13.1)
42.3%	FG %	42.3%
60.4%	FT %	67.4%
25.8%	3FG %	28.9%
39.7 (-2.5)	Rebounds	39.6 (+5.5)
14.5	Assists	13.4
14.1 (+5.4)	Turnovers	18.1 (+1.9)
9.6	Steals	13.9
3.8	Blocks	2.6