Men's Basketball Set To Meet Borough Rivals Brooklyn College

BROOKLYN, N.Y.–The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team will kick off the new year with an interborough road meeting against the Brooklyn College Bulldogs on Thursday, January 8 at 5 p.m.

Game Information

Opponent: Brooklyn College (11-2, 5-1 CUNYAC)
Date/Time: Thursday, January 8 • 5:00 p.m.
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Arena: West Quad Center
Coverage: Audio

Quick Links

St. Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Statistics | Misc. Stats
Brooklyn College: Roster | Schedule | Statistics

Storylines

• The Bears (8-4) are coming off a two-game split in California, downing La Verne 68-52 on Monday, December 29 and suffering a 75-68 overtime loss to Chapman on December 30.
• Michael Megafu is leading St. Joseph's in scoring (16.6) and shooting (60.0%). On Tuesday, the junior was awarded his third career Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) Player of the Week and his sixth career Association of Division III Independents (AD3I) Player of the Week.
• Megafu secured his 1,000^th career point on a breakaway dunk against Chapman. The junior finished with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting against undefeated Chapman (10-0), who are hovering just outside of the D3Hoops.com Top 25.
• David Louison has been the Bears' premier presence on the glass, pulling down 11.9 boards per contest while scoring 15.2 points. Louison's consistency has been on display all season as the senior has managed a double-double in ten out of twelve games.
• Brooklyn College is off to a furious 11-2 start, including a 5-1 conference record. The Bulldogs are fresh off a 75-63 conference victory over York on Tuesday.
• Brooklyn's prolific offense is averaging 85.4 points per game with all five of their starters averaging double-figure scoring. Junior Egzon Gjonbalaj leads the way with team-highs in points (16.8) and rebounds (8.8).

Series History

The two borough rivals have met 14 times in the series history dating back to 2002 with Brooklyn College holding a 10-4 advantage. The Bears won the previous meeting last year, snapping a seven-game series losing streak with an 88-75 victory.

Last Meeting

On January 13, 2014, the Bears downed their Brooklyn rivals 88-75 at Brooklyn Technical High School. David Louison and Michael Megafu posted 30 points apiece in leading St. Joseph's to their first win over the Bulldogs since 2006. Louison recorded his 1,000^th career point on a three-point play with just over a minute remaining. Megafu corralled a game-high 15 rebounds while Louison pulled down 10. With the victory, St. Joseph's snapped a two-game skid and improved to 8-7 on the season.

The Bear Facts

The 8-4 Bears are coming off a two-game split in California. Michael Megafu is leading St. Joseph's in scoring (16.6) and shooting (60.0%). After averaging 22.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals in the two-game California trip, Megafu was awarded his third career Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) Player of the Week and his sixth career Association of Division III Independents (AD3I) Player of the Week. The junior secured his 1,000^th career point on a breakaway dunk against Chapman en route to a game-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting.

David Louison has been the Bears' premier presence on the glass, pulling down 11.9 rebounds per game while averaging 15.2 points. The reliable senior has finished with a double-double in ten out of twelve games this season.

Matt O'Neill is the team's primary distributor, averaging 3.5 assists per contest. The junior also leads the Bears in steals (3.5) and ranks third on the team in scoring (13.5). O'Neill is converting on 40.8 percent (29-71) from long distance and is coming off a 5-for-14 performance from three in California.

Bears Last Time Out

The Bears split two games in Orange, California, comfortably defeating La Verne 68-52 on Monday, December 29 but suffering a 75-68 overtime loss to Chapman on December 30.

Against La Verne, Michael Megafu posted game-highs in points (21) and rebounds (10), finishing with his sixth double-double of the season. David Louison narrowly missed out on another double-double, securing 13 points and nine boards, with three of them coming on the offensive end. Jamir Archer drained a career-high 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 3-for-3 from the line. The junior also added four rebounds.

Following an early 8-3 deficit, the Bears regrouped and controlled the action the rest of the way, winning their third consecutive game and improving to 8-3.

St. Joseph's met undefeated Chapman the following day. The Panthers, now 10-0, are hovering just outside of the D3Hoops.com Top 25 rankings. But the Bears gave them their toughest game of the season, ultimately falling short in overtime.

Megafu 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 by joining the 1,000 career-point club. Louison 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.

Megafu Reaches 1,000 Career Points, Receives HVIAC and AD3I Player of the Week

After scoring game-highs in both of the Bears' contests and securing his 1,000^th career point, Michael Megafu was awarded the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) and Association of Division III Independents (AD3I) men's basketball Player of the Week on Tuesday.

Megafu averaged 22.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals for the Bears in a two-game road trip in Orange, California. On Monday, December 29, the junior led St. Joseph's to a 68-52 victory over La Verne with game-highs in points (21) and rebounds (10) while also recording three assists and a pair of steals. On Tuesday, December 30, Megafu shot 9-for-11 en route to another game-high in points (23), including his 1,000th career point on a powerful breakaway dunk. He added nine boards, two assists and three steals as the visiting Bears pushed undefeated Chapman to overtime.

This is Megafu's third career HVIAC Player of the Week and the sixth time he has been honored with the AD3I Player of the Week.

Climbing the Ranks

With Michael Megafu now a member of the 1,000 point-club, the Bears hold two of the 71 active Division III players with at least 1,000 career points. David Louison (1,416) is rapidly approaching the 1,500-point milestone and ranks sixth on the active scoring list. Megafu (1,010) ranks 67^th and is one of just seven active juniors to reach the milestone.

Inside the Dog House

Brooklyn College is off to a furious 11-2 start, including a 5-1 conference record. The Bulldogs dropped their season-opener 95-88 (OT) to William Patterson University and responded with a ten game winning streak. Their second defeat came at the hands of the College of Staten Island on Saturday (78-74). The Bulldogs again bounced back with a comfortable 75-63 conference victory over York on Tuesday. Brooklyn improved to 11-2 with the win, already almost matching the win total from last season's 12-14 finish.

The Bulldog's prolific offense is averaging 85.4 points per contest with all five of their starters averaging double-figure scoring. Junior Egzon Gjonbalaj leads the way with team-highs in points (16.8) and rebounds (8.8). The rest of their starters include senior Jai Kellman (15.5 ppg), junior Lorenzo Williams (15.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg), senior Valon Djombalic (12.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg) and junior Jamel Gist (12.0 ppg, 4.4 apg).

Brooklyn College Last Time Out

On Tuesday night, Brooklyn College used a strong second-half surge to erase a seven-point halftime deficit en route to a 75-63 victory over CUNYAC rival York College at the West Quad Center.

Junior Lorenzo Williams led Brooklyn with 27 points and 13 rebounds, both game-highs. Egzon Gjonbalaj scored 19 while fellow junior Jamel Gist filled the stat sheet with nine points, nine boards and five assists. The Bulldogs dominated the second-half, outscoring York 46-27 to secure victory and improve to 11-2.

Next Up for the Bears

The Bears will make just their second appearance at the brand new Hill Center, meeting Apprentice on Saturday, January 10 at 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.