Men's Basketball Gameday: Bears at HVIAC Tournament

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Conference (HVIAC) Tournament takes place this Saturday at the College of New Rochelle. Top-ranked St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) takes on fourth seed Albany Pharmacy in the first semifinal at 2:00 p.m., while second-seeded Berkeley College battles number two seed Vaughn College at 4 p.m.. The winners compete in the final Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

Game Information

Saturday, February 15 - Semifinals
2 p.m.: No. 1 St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (16-9, 7-0) vs. No. 4 Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (9-10, 4-3)
4 p.m.: No. 2 Berkeley College (14-8, 5-2) vs. No. 3 Vaughn College (13-10, 5-2)

Sunday, February 16 
2 p.m.: Championship

Tournament Central
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Storylines

• St. Joseph's looks to win their first HVIAC Tournament title since the 2009-10 season and third in school history.
• St. Joseph's tries to continue its strong play as of late, having won six of their last seven games entering the tournament.
• The Bears have met Berkeley College in seven of the last eight title games with the Knights holding a 6-1 edge in those matchups.
• Vaughn College looks to make their first championship game appearance since the 2009-10 season when they dropped a 78-64 decision to St. Joseph's.
• Albany Pharmacy tries to make its first appearance in the championship game in school history.
• Good offense is going to be on display as the top three scoring offenses qualified for the tournament and the top four individual scorers will try to guide their teams to a championship led by leading scorer in the HVIAC Casey Redfern who averages 20.5 points per game on the season.

Last Meetings

vs. Albany Pharmacy: In their regular season meeting, the Bears were led by a double-double (25 points, 12 rebounds) by junior David Louison as St. Joseph's remained undefeated in HVIAC play with a 71-53 victory over the Panthers on February 1. Junior Vernon Maddox chipped in 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.

vs. Berkeley: In a game that needed little hype between two long-time rivals playing for the first time at the Barclays Center, St. Joseph's grabbed a 75-57 victory over the Knights on December 27th. David Louison finished with a game-high 29 points while Michael Megafu netted a double-double with 18 points and a game-best 10 caroms to help the Bears secure their first win over Berkeley in seven meetings.

vs. Vaughn: Michael Megafu and David Louison recorded double-doubles, as St. Joseph's set a school record in free throws made and attempted, on their way to a 97-82 victory over the Warriors on January 30th at Brooklyn Technical High School. Megafu concluded the night with a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Louison picked up 18 points and 12 caroms.

The Bear Facts

Last Time Out: David Ortiz scored a career- and game-high 22 points on Senior Night as St. Joseph's held off John Jay College for a 70-67 triumph on Tuesday at Brooklyn Technical High School. Neither team led by more than six points in the tight affair that went down to the final buzzer with a Bloodhounds game-tying attempt from over 50 feet, drawing rim, but wouldn't fall.

St. Joseph's comes in as the top seed in the HVIAC tournament with a perfect 7-0 record. The Bears are looking to take the title after coming up short last season against Berkeley College, 71-63 in the finals.

The Bears are led by five-time AD3I and HVIAC Player of the Week David Louison, who continues to have a career year for St. Joseph's in the frontcourt. Louison is averaging a team-high 18.2 points per game (No. 2 in HVIAC) on 54.7 percent shooting (No. 3 in HVIAC) and is bringing down 9.4 rebounds per game. The junior has 14 double-doubles (No. 6 in Division III) on the year and is pouring in 20.5 points per game since the start of the New Year.

Also a frontcourt presence for the Bears is Michael Megafu who is a double-double threat everytime he takes the floor. The sophomore has 16 double-doubles on the year (No. 4 in Division III) and nets 16.6 points (No. 4 in HVIAC) and a team-high 10.6 rebounds per game (No. 26 in Division III). The forward shoots an efficient 55.6 percent from the field (No. 2 in HVIAC) and rejects a team-high 1.4 blocks per game.

Vernon Maddox continues to be the primary facilitator for St. Joseph's dishing out a team-high 4.6 assists per game (No. 1 in HVIAC) and adds 9.6 points per game. Sophomore Matt O'Neill chips in 10.3 points per game and leads the team with 2.6 steals per game (No. 17 in Division III).

On the Prowl

Last Time Out: Senior Casey Redfern tallied 34 points and nine rebounds to lead Albany Pharmacy to a 76-67 win over New Hampshire Technical Institute on February 9th. The Panthers erased an early 6-1 deficit with a 19-4 run over six minutes to take a lead they would not relinquish.

Albany Pharmacy enters the tournament as the fourth seed, compiling a 4-3 record in the conference. The Panthers are led by reigning HVIAC Player of the Week senior Casey Redfern, who topped the conference during the regular season with 20.5 points per game and also grabbed 7.6 rebounds per game.

Also scoring in double figures are John Tremblay and Ryan McVaigh who average 11.5 and 11.1 points per game, respectively. McVaigh has the team high in rebounding by averaging 7.8 boards per game, while Tremblay leads the Panthers with 2.8 assists per game.

The Knightly News

Last Time Out: Berkeley won its fourth straight game to conclude the regular season with an 87-21 victory over Pratt Institute on Wednesday night at the Pratt ARC. The Knights were led by Jovan Bovell and Keenan Langston who both netted 11 points apiece.

Third-seeded Berkeley College look to grab their third straight conference championship after finishing 4-2 in the HVIAC.

The Knights are led offensively by Keenan Langston, a five-time HVIAC Rookie of the Week, who averages a team-high 16.7 points per game (No. 3 in HVIAC) and has reached double figures in all but two games this season.

Also averaging double figures in points is Jovan Bovell who pours in 11.1 points per game. Richard Rampersad averages 9.2 points per game primarily off the bench and two-time HVIAC Player of the Week Danzel White contributes 8.5 points per game and 6.5 boards per game. Elijah Craig nearly averages a double-double with 9.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

The Way of the Warrior

Last Time Out: Vaughn picked up an 85-57 victory over Sarah Lawrence College in their regular season finale on Tuesday night. The Warriors were led by Rashad Luckett who had a game-high 20 points and secured 10 rebounds.

Vaughn comes into the tournament as the second seed, coming off their best season as a program with 13 wins and a 5-2 record in the HVIAC.

Freshman Michael Pena, a three-time HVIAC Rookie of the Week, is the team's leading scorer, pouring in 16.2 points per game and dishes out 2.5 helpers per game.

One-time HVIAC Player of the Week Rashad Luckett averages 14.3 points per game and gives the Warriors a three-point threat as he hits 34.8 percent (39-of-112) of his attempts from beyond the arc. The sophomore also leads the team with 2.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

Did You Know?

This is the second year in a row that the Bears and Albany Pharmacy have met in the semifinals.

Team Comparison

Bears	Nickname	Knights	Warriors	Panthers
16-9 (7-0)	Record	14-8 (5-2)	13-10 (5-2)	9-10 (4-3)
HVIAC	Conference	HVIAC	HVIAC	HVIAC
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
David Louison (18.2)	Top Pts.	Keenan Langston (16.7)	Michael Pena (16.2)	Casey Redfern (20.5)
Michael Megafu (10.6)	Top Reb.	Elijah Craig (9.6)	Eric McDonald (6.5)	Ryan McVaigh (7.4)
Vernon Maddox (4.6)	Top Ast.	Jovan Bovell (4.0)	Rashad Luckett (2.8)	John Tremblay (2.8)
74.4 (+7.6)	Scoring	78.8 (+10.7)	79.2 (+18.5)	65.5 (-2.6)
42.4%	FG %	44.7%	42.0%	38.6%
61.1%	FT %	60.2%	65.5%	64.5%
25.1%	3FG %	31.6%	30.5%	28.2%
41.0 (-1.7)	Rebounds	45.2 (+8.0)	42.7 (+9.6)	40.5 (-0.4)
15.0	Assists	14.6	13.6	11.9
13.8 (+5.2)	Turnovers	17.5 (+0.9)	16.7 (+2.5)	17.2 (-1.3)
9.4	Steals	10.6	13.7	8.2
4.1	Blocks	4.6	2.9	2.4