Men’s Basketball Falls in OT Thriller to Undefeated Chapman, Megafu Secures 1000th Point

ORANGE, Calif. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team gave undefeated Chapman their toughest game of the season on Tuesday night, but fell 75-68 in overtime in Orange, California.

Michael Megafu (Jamaica, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) led the team in scoring for the second consecutive game, tallying 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting and nine boards. Megafu made history in the process, securing his 1000^th career point on a powerful fastbreak dunk. The junior also had two assists, three steals and a block.

David Louison (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) compiled his tenth double-double of the year, finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds, including the game-tying jumper with eight seconds on the clock that sent the game to overtime. The senior added two blocks and a steal.

Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) poured in 11 on 3-for-8 shooting from long distance. The junior added five caroms, two assists and a game-high four steals. Junior Greg Beehler (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) added seven off the bench on 3-for-6 shooting.

Nine different Panthers (9-0) got on the scoreboard. Senior Colin Zavrsnick shot 6-of-13 from downtown en route to a team-best 22 points.

Chapman jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the early-going, but the Bears (8-4) responded with a 9-0 run capped by Louison's three-point play at the 13:50 mark, making the score 9-5.

Jake Henke's jumper with 6:59 remaining in the first-half completed a 12-0 run by the Panthers, giving them a 20-11 advantage.

St. Joseph's finished the half strong, closing the gap to 27-23 heading into the lockers.

Halfway through the second, two consecutive O'Neill triples in the span of 54 seconds gave the Bears a 43-41 lead.

After more back-and-forth play, the Panthers held a 56-55 advantage in the final minute. Freshman Alec Willis (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) drained a clutch jumper to put the Bears up 57-56 with 44 seconds on the clock.

Zavrsnick's three put Chapman up 59-57 in the waning seconds, but Louison responded with a game-tying jumper with eight seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime and putting Chapman's untarnished record in jeopardy.

But the Panthers began the overtime period with an 8-0 run. With 3:03 left, Beehler's triple brought St. Joseph's to within five, making the score 69-64.

The Bears, though, would be unable to complete the comeback after pushing undefeated Chapman to the brink.

Like yesterday, St. Joseph's applied physical defensive pressure, holding the Panthers to 41.0 percent shooting (25-61). But the Panthers consistently connected from long-range, hitting 12-of-32, including three in OT.

After splitting their two-game west coast trip, St. Joseph's will return home for a matchup at Brooklyn College on Thursday, January 8 at 5 p.m. Audio can be found at SJCBears.com.