Men's Basketball Opens Season at Maritime Admiral's Classic This Weekend

THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime College Admiral's Classic takes place this Saturday and Sunday at Throggs Neck, NY. St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) will take on Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday, November 15 at 1:00 p.m. and Maritime College on Sunday, November 16 at 3 p.m. All three teams will make their 2014-15 season debuts in the series.

Game Information

Saturday, November 15
1 p.m.: St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (0-0) vs. Merchant Marine (0-0)

Sunday, November 16 
3 p.m.: St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (0-0) at Maritime (N.Y.) (0-0)

Live stats | Video

Storylines

• The 2013-14 Bears (18-9, 7-0 HVIAC) won their third HVIAC Tournament Championship in school history and first since the 2009-10 season. They finished the season on a four-game winning streak, including their HVIAC Finals victory over conference rival Vaughn.
• Coming off a 12-14 year, USMMA will begin the season under new Head Coach Stephen Hayn. Hayn previously spent eight years under the helm at Dowling College (Oakdale, NY). The Mariners' new leader finished the 2013-14 season at Dowling with a 22-7 record, East Coast Conference Coach of the Year honors, All Met Writers Division II Coach of the Year honors, and a trip to the Division II ECC post-season tournament semi-finals. 
• Maritime finished the 2013-14 campaign with a 3-22 record under third-year coach Jake Scott. Scott will lead a 22-man roster, one of the largest in program history, that consists of ten freshmen and just two seniors.

Last Meetings

vs. Merchant Marine: On November 29, 2006, St. Joseph's fell 86-72 at home in their only meeting in history. The Bears' Mike Donnelly contributed a game-high 27 points while Brian Kelly helped Merchant Marine to victory with 23 points and eight assists.

vs. Maritime: In a regular season meeting in Throggs Neck on Novemeber 24, 2009, the Privateers won a heavily one-sided affair 76-34. Shamair Williams of Maritime scored a game-high 17 points while also chipping in eight rebounds. The series record stands at 2-2 dating back to their first meeting in 2004.

The Bear Facts

Entering the 2014-15 campaign, the Bears' core will remain largely intact as they look to repeat as HVIAC Champions. Starters Vernon Maddox (Sr.), Michael Megafu (Jr.), Matt O'Neill (Jr.), and David Louison (Sr.) will all return for St. Joseph's. Louison was the team's leading scorer (18.3) and second-leading rebounder (9.8). Megafu added 17.0 points per game a team-high 10.5 rebounds.

Reserves Francisco Escobedo, Chris Labady, Greg Beehler, Nolan Parr, and Richard DiPuma will all return as well. Newcomers Olatunde Bashorun, Raul Urshela, Alec Willis, and Jamir Archer will round out the roster.

Marching Forward

Merchant Marine enters the new season without graduating seniors Zach Karczewski and Nick Sergio. Last season, Karczewski led the Mariners in point per game (13.6) and Sergio was their top rebounder (9.1). The team's young roster consists of no seniors and six freshmen. Under the leadership of new coach Stephen Hayn, Merchant Marine will look to build off last season's 12-14 finish.

Sailing Onward

The Privateers will be led by team captains T'Vaughn Gibson (Sr.), Sean Corley (Sr.), and Liam Ryan (So.). In 2013-14, Gibson was Maritime's top scorer (14.2) while Corley led the team in rebounding (7.0) and assists (5.2). As a freshman, Ryan contributed with 3.4 point per game and appeared in all 25 games. Led by their captains, the team will look to bounce back after a 3-22 year.

Did You Know?

David Louison has 1233 career points for the Bears. The senior reached the 1000-point milestone last season and is now just 133 rebounds shy of being the first Bear to join the 1000-point, 1000-rebound club.

Team Comparison

St. Joseph's (Brooklyn)	School	US Merchant Marine Academy	SUNY Maritime College
Bears	Nickname	Mariners	Privateers
(0-0)	Record	0-0	(0-0)
HVIAC	Conference	Landmark	Skyline
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
David Louison (18.3)	Top Pts.	Zach Karczewski (13.6)	T'Vaughn Gibson (14.2)
Michael Megafu (10.5)	Top Reb.	Nick Sergio (9.1)	Sean Corley (7.0)
Vernon Maddox (4.6)	Top Ast.	G. Hatzioannides (2.8)	Sean Corley (5.2)