Men's Basketball Gameday: Bears vs. Sarah Lawrence

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – St. Joseph's (13-8, 5-0 HVIAC) continues their four-game homestand, looking to clinch their first Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) regular season title since the 2009-10 season as they host Sarah Lawrence College (8-11, 3-0 HVIAC) on Tuesday, February 4th at 7:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Technical High School.

Game Information

Sarah Lawrence College (8-11, 3-0 HVIAC) vs.
St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (13-8, 5-0 HVIAC)

Tuesday, February 4th • 7:30 p.m.
Brooklyn Technical High School • Brooklyn, N.Y.

Live Stats | Live Video - Play-by-play: Sitesh Shah (@SSWfan) 
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Storylines

• Tonight's matchup is for first place in the HVIAC with St. Joseph's able to clinch the regular season title for the first time since the 2009-10 season with a win over Sarah Lawrence.
• St. Joseph's looks to win a season-high fifth game in a row and move six games over .500 for the first time since they were 16-10 a year ago after defeating Albany Pharmacy in the semifinals of the HVMAC Tournament.
• The Bears tries to continue its strong play on the defensive end of the floor, coming into tonight's game holding their opponents to 35.4 percent (101-of-285) shooting over the course of their four-game winning streak.
• With a win against the Gryphons, St. Joseph's will earn their seventh win of the season at home which would be the most since the 2007-08 season when they had eight home wins.
• Sarah Lawrence comes into this game having won three of their last four games, including three wins against HVIAC opponent, and is looking to make the season-ending conference tournament for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

Series History

St. Joseph's is a perfect 12-0 against Sarah Lawrence since the 2002 season.

Last Meeting

The Bears held the Gryphons to 16.7 percent shooting en route to a convincing 71-20 victory over Sarah Lawrence on Noyes Court on January 30, 2013.

St. Joseph's opened the scoring with nine straight points, six from David Louison layups. The Gryphons countered with three baskets to cut the deficit to 9-6 with 14:18 to play, but that would be the closest the hosts would get, the Bears ballooning the lead to 13 with a 12-2 run and expanded it into a 43-16 advantage at the intermission.

Louison finished with a game-high 17 points, pulling down a team-high eight rebounds and swatting three shots.

The Bear Facts

Last Time Out: Helped by the 11th double-double of the season by Louison, St. Joseph's remained undefeated in HVIAC play and moved a season-high five games over .500 with a 71-53 victory over Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on Saturday at Brooklyn Technical High School. Louison finished the night with a game-high 25 points and 12 rebounds.

St. Joseph's has breezed through HVIAC play so far this season, winning all five of their league games by at least 15 points. The Bears look to end a three-year drought without being crowned regular season champions after earning the title six straight years dating back to the 2004-05 season.

Earning a spot in the USCAA Tournament for the second straight year is also on the minds of the Bears, coming into tonight's game ranked No. 11 in the latest coaches' poll. St. Joseph's needs to jump up a few spots in the standings to make this a reality and are helped by the fact that including tonight's contest three of their last four games to close the regular season are at Brooklyn Tech.

Providing a large amount of ammunition to the Bears arsenal is David Louison who is averaging a team-high 18.2 points per game on 53.8 percent shooting and has 11 double-doubles on the year. The junior also averages 9.2 boards per game and has played his best in front of the home fans at Brooklyn Tech, averaging 20.4 points per game on a blistering 62.6 percent shooting along with 10.0 rebounds per game.

Not to be overlooked in the frontcourt is Michael Megafu who averages a double-double on the year with 15.9 points and 10.6 rebounds per game at a 54.1 percent connect rate. The sophomore is coming off his best month of the season, finishing the month of January with averages of 17.8 points and 12.2 caroms per game and leads the team with 13 double-doubles on the year.

Matt O'Neill provides St. Joseph's with that important third scorer, averaging 10.9 points per game along with a team-high 2.8 steals per game. The sophomore has reached double figures in scoring in five of the last six games, a stretch that has seen the Bears go 5-1.

Welcome to Gryphondor

Last Time Out: Sarah Lawrence improved to 3-0 in HVIAC play with a 78-32 victory over the Pratt Institute on Friday, January 31st at the Pratt ARC. The Gryphons were led by Niels Kjer who had a game-high 15 points.

Sarah Lawrence comes into tonight's matchup with more wins this season then the last two years combined, due to an infusion of young talent with the roster made up of eight freshman and two sophomores under second-year head coach Chris Ehmer. The Gryphons are in the middle of the pack in the HVIAC in most offensive and defensive categories, but do lead the conference in free throw shooting at 67.5 percent.

Leading Sarah Lawrence offensively is one-time HVIAC Player of the Week and two-time Rookie of the Week, Stevan Radosavljevic, who averages a team-high 13.5 points per game and leads the league in rebounding with 11.4 boards per game. The forward also has 11 double-doubles on the year and has reached the 20-point plateau five times this season.

Also averaging double figures in scoring is another freshman in last week's HVIAC Rookie of the Week, Graham Gilleran, who is pouring in 12.5 points per game. The forward also corals 8.5 boards per game and uses his 6-8 frame to reject 2.2 blocks per game.

Did You Know?

Tonight's matchup is the first time the two schools have met with both undefeated in league play.

Team Comparison

Bears	Nickname	Gryphons
13-8 (5-0)	Record	8-11 (3-0)
HVIAC	Conference	HVIAC
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
David Louison (18.2)	Top Pts.	Stevan Radosavljevic (13.5)
Michael Megafu (10.6)	Top Reb.	Stevan Radosavljevic (11.4)
Vernon Maddox (4.4)	Top Ast.	Wyatt Rocheleau (3.2)
73.3 (+7.9)	Scoring	65.9 (+0.2)
42.3%	FG %	37.7%
60.7%	FT %	67.5%
25.9%	3FG %	30.3%
40.7 (-2.3)	Rebounds	42.9 (+0.7)
14.7	Assists	13.0
14.3 (+4.8)	Turnovers	18.5 (-2.3)
9.3	Steals	9.3
4.1	Blocks	4.0