Men’s Basketball Prevails 83-64 in USCAA Matchup Against Apprentice

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team snapped a two-game skid on Saturday at the Hill Center, never trailing in a 83-64 triumph over fellow USCAA Top 20 school Apprentice.

Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) was all over the floor, filling the boxscore with 18 points, nine boards and a game-high seven dishes.

Michael Megafu (Jamaica, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) led all scorers with 19 on 7-of-10 shooting, including 11 rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Along with Megafu, senior David Louison (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) compiled a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds, his eleventh of the season. St. Joseph's is now 5-1 when both bigs record double-doubles.

Junior Jamir Archer (Staten Island, N.Y./CSI/McCown) reached a new career-high with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 11 in the first-half to propel the Bears in the early going. Fellow junior Greg Beehler (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) set a new career mark as well after lighting it up from deep, going 4-for-5 from three for 12 points off the bench.

Nine different Builders got on the scoreboard. Junior Jay Melendez hit 3-of-8 from downtown en route to a team-best 18 points.

The Bears jumped on Apprentice early, holding their first double-digit lead (17-7) by the 12:29 mark following a pair of Archer free-throws.

The lead ballooned to 20 less than seven minutes later after O'Neill converted on a three-point play, giving St. Joseph's a 36-16 advantage with 5:54 remaining in the first.

The Builders responded with a quick 9-0 run to keep the game in hand, cutting the gap to 36-25. They entered the lockers trailing 40-27.

The Bears reclaimed a 20-point lead less than five minutes into the second-half, going up 49-29 following another converted Archer free-throw at the 15:51 mark. Archer finished 4-of-5 from the line en route to his career-high performance.

Apprentice's 7-0 run cut the gap to 69-58 with 5:58 remaining, putting themselves within striking distance in the closing minutes.

But that would be as close the Builders would come, as the Bears hit seven free-throws in the final five minutes to secure a pivotal USCAA victory.

St. Joseph's drained seven three-pointers on Saturday and shot 43.5 percent (27-62) from the floor. The Bears' defensive pressure held Apprentice to 35.7 percent shooting, with only two Builders reaching double-figures.

St. Joseph's was also highly active on the glass, corralling 50 rebounds and improving to 7-3 when outrebounding their opponents.

After snapping a two-game skid in impressive fashion, the 9-5 Bears will face formidable Division I members NJIT in Newark, N.J. on Wednesday, January 14 with a 7 p.m. tipoff. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.