Men's Basketball Gameday: Bears vs. Staten Island

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – St. Joseph's (14-8, 6-0 HVIAC) concludes their four-game homestand and looks to win their sixth game in a row, hosting the College of Staten Island (18-2, 12-0 CUNYAC) on Thursday, February 6th at 7:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Technical High School.

Game Information

(RV) College of Staten Island (18-2, 12-0 CUNYAC) vs.
St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (14-8, 6-0 HVIAC)

Thursday, February 6th • 7:30 p.m.
Brooklyn Technical High School • Brooklyn, N.Y.

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Storylines

• St. Joseph's tries to put an end to the reigning three-time CUNYAC regular season champions' 17-game winning streak as they look for their sixth win in a row.
• The Bears look to pick up their third win against the Dolphins in 12 meetings since 2002.
• With a win tonight, St. Joseph's will move seven games over .500 for the first time since the 2006-07 season when they finished 21-11.
• Something has to give as the Bears hold a 7-1 mark at Brooklyn Technical High School, while the Dolphins hold an 8-1 road record.
• St. Joseph's will have eight home wins on the season with a victory over Staten Island for the first time since the 2007-08 season when they finished 8-4 at home.
• Staten Island looks to continue making its way up the D3hoops.com poll, coming into tonight's action receiving 28 votes in the latest rankings, needing to move up three spots to crack the top 25.
• Junior David Louison tries to secure his fourth straight double-double, coming into tonight's action with 12 on the season and ranked in the top 15 in the nation.
• Sophomore Michael Megafu also looks to move up the NCAA rankings in double-doubles coming in ranked in the top five with 14 on the year.

Series History

Staten Island holds a 9-2 edge in the series since 2002 with the Bears picking up their last win in on February 15, 2011 in a 103-102 decision at CSI.

Last Meeting

David Louison and Matt O'Neill led St. Joseph's with 18 points each, but the Bears found themselves on the short end of an 80-68 decision against the Dolphins on January 10, 2013 at the CSI Sports & Recreation Center.

After trailing 39-31 at the break, St. Joseph's came out of the lockers strong scoring six unanswered on back-to-back layups by Louison and Jan Rogowski. The Dolphins tried to pull away again but the Bears managed to tie the game at 52-all just past the midway point of the period. St. Joseph's got within three, 62-59, on a Megafu dunk, but Staten Island responded with a 9-1 run to increase the lead back to double figures.

The Bear Facts

Last Time Out: St. Joseph's received a trio of double-doubles from sophomore Michael Megafu and Matt O'Neill along with junior David Louison, on their way to a wire-to-wire, 92-75, victory over Sarah Lawrence College to secure the HVIAC regular season title on Tuesday night at Brooklyn Technical High School. Megafu finished with a game-high 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting and added 10 rebounds for his team-leading 14th double-double.

St. Joseph's takes a reprieve from conference play with a matchup against the Dolphins after clinching their first HVIAC regular season title since the 2009-10 season against Sarah Lawrence on Tuesday. The Bears host Staten Island in what is the biggest game at Brooklyn Technical High School since the two teams squared off on Senior Night in February of 2012.

With a win against a high caliber opponent such as the Dolphins, St. Joseph's hopes to move up the USCAA rankings and make a case for a spot in the upcoming USCAA National Tournament. The Bears come in at No. 11 in the latest coaches' poll and with a win against Staten Island hope to move into the pivotal top eight of the rankings.

This week's AD3I and HVIAC Player of the Week David Louison continues to be a force to be reckoned with down on the block for St. Joseph's, averaging a team-high 18.3 points per game along with 9.3 boards per game. The junior is excelling at a critical juncture for the Bears, putting up 19.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game over the course of St. Joseph's five-game winning streak, including three-straight double-doubles to bring his season total to 12.

Adding his name to the double-double club is Michael Megafu who averages 16.5 points and a team-high 10.6 rebounds per game. The sophomore has a team-leading 14 double-doubles on the year and shoots a team-best 55.1 percent from the floor. The forward has enjoyed his time at Brooklyn Tech this season, dropping in 18.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 62.2 percent from the floor in eight games.

Matt O'Neill, after a tough start to the season, has come on strong averaging 13.1 points per game in the month of January and is coming off his first career double-double against the Gryphons. The sophomore brings into the game a stat line of 10.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 2.4 assists per game on the season.

Flipper Facts

Last Time Out: Staten Island won their 17th consecutive game with an 86-76 victory at Lehman College on Tuesday night. The Dolphins had six players score in double figures led by Javon Cox who had 14 points.

Staten Island comes in on a roll having won 17 consecutive games with all but four of the wins coming by double figures as they try to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year. The Dolphins come in as one of the most efficient teams in the country, shooting 50.1 percent from the floor (No. 9 in Division III) and have dominated opponents all season, racking up a +15.0 scoring margin (No. 8 in Division III). Not to be overlooked is their intensity on the defensive side of the floor where they hold opponents to only 38.9 percent shooting (No. 16 in Division III).

Leading five players who average double figures on the season for Staten Island is Bloochy Magloire who puts up 16.7 points per game. One-time CUNYAC Player of the Week this season Javon Cox adds 13.8 points and 8.8 caroms per game, while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor.

Jonathon Chadwick-Meyers, who had a game-high 31 points against the Bears last season, chips in 13.7 points per game and leads the team hitting 44.9 percent (22-of-49) of his three-point attempts.

Seven-time CUNYAC Rookie of the Week Frankie Schettino is the orchestrator of the potent Dolphins offense, dishing out 6.6 assists per game (No. 7 in Division III) and averages 10.7 points per game. Will Fonseca contributes 12.7 points per game.

Did You Know?

With a win against the Dolphins, St. Joseph's would clinch its first winning season against CUNYAC foes in 12 seasons under Coach Cocozello.

Team Comparison

Bears	Nickname	Dolphins
14-8 (6-0)	Record	18-2 (12-0)
HVIAC	Conference	CUNYAC
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
David Louison (18.3)	Top Pts.	Bloochy Magloire (16.7)
Michael Megafu (10.6)	Top Reb.	Javon Cox (8.8)
Vernon Maddox (4.5)	Top Ast.	Frankie Schettino (6.6)
74.1 (+8.3)	Scoring	82.7 (+15.0)
42.4%	FG %	50.1%
61.3%	FT %	64.0%
25.0%	3FG %	37.1%
40.9 (-2.0)	Rebounds	41.1 (+5.2)
15.0	Assists	16.4
13.9 (+5.3)	Turnovers	15.0 (+2.1)
9.4	Steals	8.6
4.0	Blocks	4.3