Record Night at Charity Stripe Leads to Men's Basketball Victory Over Vaughn

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Sophomore Michael Megafu (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) and junior David Louison (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) both recorded double-doubles, as the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team set a school record in free throws made and attempted, on their way to a 97-82 victory over Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) foe Vaughn College on Thursday night at Brooklyn Technical High School.

St. Joseph's (12-8, 4-0 HVIAC) remains unbeaten in HVIAC play with their third win in a row and moves a season-high four games over .500, while Vaughn (11-8, 4-2 HVIAC) sees their three-game winning streak snapped.

Megafu and Louison teamed up once again to provide the punch to the St. Joseph's attack, with Megafu finishing the night with a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds for his team-leading 13th double-double. The forward shot an impressive 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) from the floor and made 9-of-15 (60 percent from the line. Louison notched his 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 caroms.

Sophomore Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) rounded out the trio of Bears scoring in double figures, concluding the night with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

The Warriors had three players reach double-digits as well, led by Darren Perez who had a team-high 20 points. Rashad Luckett added 19 points and Jared Ndiba contributed 12 points.

The game was played at a fast pace right from the beginning with the shot clock not being a factor for the entire game. The game was physical from the opening tip with 46 combined fouls called for the entire game, 33 against the visitors, and it became chippy in the second half with three technical fouls being called against Vaughn.

However, the Bears were able to use the Warriors reckless physicality to their advantage, going 35-of-49 (71.4 percent) from the line for the game compared to 9-of-18 (50 percent) by Vaughn.

The two teams went back-and-forth for the opening few minutes of the contest and the guests took their only lead of the game at 11-10 with 16:44 left to play in the first half before St. Joseph's went on a 14-2 run that gave them the lead for good at 24-13 with 12:27 left to play in the frame.

The Warriors got within single digits, 45-36, with 59 seconds left in opening period, but a Greg Beehler (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) trifecta with a second on the clock sent the Bears into the locker room with a double-digit lead, 48-36, and with all the momentum.

St. Joseph's used the momentum gained from the Beehler three and turned it into an 18-point lead, 61-43, with 15:27 left to play in the game. Vaughn would cut it to 12, 65-53, at the 12:56 mark after back-to-back triples from Perez, but the Warriors who were frustrated with the foul discrepancy all night lost their composure with two technicals being called against the visitors after Megafu drew a foul at the 12:10 mark of the second half.

The Bears used the technical free throws to go on a 19-6 run that increased the lead to a game-high 25 points, 84-59, with 6:50 left to play and the guests would not be heard from again.

TURNING POINT

After Vaughn took a brief 11-10 lead with 16:44 left in the opening half, St. Joseph's responded with a 14-2 run that gave them the lead for good at 24-13 with 12:27 on the first half clock.

The Warriors got within five, 34-29, at the 4:15 mark, but the Bears would end the half on a 14-7 run, capped off by a Beehler three that sent them into the lockers up 48-36 and St. Joseph's would maintain a double-digit cushion the rest of the way.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Other Contributors: Vernon Maddox (9 pts, 6 ast, 4 reb) Francisco Escobedo (8 pts, 3 reb) Beehler (8 pts, 3 reb)
• Vaughn attempted 30 more field goal attempts than St. Joseph's but could not capitalize, shooting only 33.3 percent (31-of-93) from the floor compared to 46.0 percent (29-of-63) for the Bears.
• The Warriors relied on the three in their effort to make a comeback, finishing the night 11-of-34 (32.4 percent) from beyond the arc while St. Joseph's went 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from downtown.
• The two teams were dead even on the boards at 54-54, but Vaughn held a 24-12 edge in offensive rebounds which they turned into a 16-12 edge in 2nd chance points.
• The Bears allowed the Warriors to hang around for a while, helped by 20 St. Joseph's turnovers which the visitors parlayed into a 25-14 edge in points off turnovers.
• St. Joseph's held a 40-32 edge in points in the paint while Vaughn maintained a 43-28 advantage in bench points.

THE BEAR FACTS

• The 35 made free throws breaks the previous mark of 32 set against Berkeley on January 20, 2007, while the 49 attempts eclipses the old record of 47 against St. Joseph's (L.I.) on January 7, 2012.
• The 11 threes made by the Warriors are a season-high allowed by the Bears, surpassing the previous mark of 10 against Austin College on November 23rd.
• The improve to 8-1 in the all-time series against Vaughn and are 4-0 in league play for the first time since going undefeated in 2009-10.
• The Bears finish the month of January with a 5-3 record for their first winning record during the first month of the year since 2007.

NEXT UP FOR THE BEARS

St. Joseph's continues their four-game home stand, hosting Albany Pharmacy on Saturday, February 1st at 5 p.m. in the opener of a doubleheader with the Lady Bears. The alumni tips off the action at 2 p.m. while the women play at 7:30 p.m.