Men’s Basketball Falls 79-60 to Division I NJIT

NEWARK, N.J. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team flirted with an upset but hit a cold stretch late, ultimately falling 79-60 to New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, N.J. on Wednesday night in a challenging test versus a Division I opponent.

Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) provided a key spark for the Bears' struggling offense on Wednesday, scoring a game-high 23 on three triples. The junior added seven boards and a game-high four thefts.

Alec Willis (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) poured in 17 points, one shy of his career-best. The freshman did manage a new career mark from three, going 5-for-8 from long range.

David Louison (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) scored nine and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and junior Michael Murray (Queens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) saw his first action of the season, scoring four points off the bench and dishing out a pair of assists.

NJIT (10-9) junior Winfield Willis led the Highlanders with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Sophomore Tim Coleman added 15 on 6-of-7 shooting and secured a game-high nine boards.

St. Joseph's (9-6) had upset on their minds despite entering Newark as significant underdogs. The first-half saw eight lead changes as the Highlanders struggled to shake off the harassing Bears.

O'Neill's triple at the 13:46 mark of the first gave St. Joseph's a 9-6 advantage in the opening stages.

NJIT responded with a quick 14-3 run, moving up 20-12 with 9:20 remaining in the half. 1:20 later, Willis assisted O'Neill's layup to cap the Bears' 6-0 answer, closing the gap to 20-18.

St. Joseph's reclaimed the lead following another O'Neill three at the 5:42 mark, giving the Bears a slight 30-29 advantage.

The Highlanders closed the half with another spurt to secure a 38-32 lead at the break, but St. Joseph's remained within striking distance.

With 15:32 remaining in the second-half, Willis netted one of his five three-pointers to make it a one-possession game (48-45) as the upset-minded Bears continued to hang around.

Willis' three set off a 2:50 scoreless span for both sides as the defensive intensity rose. The Highlanders then unleashed a 29-8 run to claim their largest lead of the night (77-53) with just 3:25 left, all but sealing the victory and dashing the Bears' upset hopes.

St. Joseph's struggled to find their offensive rhythm, especially late, finishing at 34.4 percent from the floor with just two players reaching double-digit scoring. Timely shooting from beyond the arc (8-19) allowed the Bears to hand around for much of the contest.

The Highlanders poured it on in the latter stages, outscoring St. Joseph's 41-28 in the second-half. NJIT also utilized their length down low to control the glass, finishing with a 46-30 rebounding advantage.

The Bears will look ahead to a pair of crucial conference meetings in their next three games, starting with Culinary Institute of America on Saturday, January 17 at 1 p.m. at the Hill Center. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.