Men's Basketball Hosts Culinary In HVIAC Showdown on Saturday

BROOKLYN, N.Y.–The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team will play their second HVIAC game of the season as they welcome Culinary Institute of America to the Hill Center on Saturday, January 17 for a 1 p.m. faceoff.

Game Information

Opponent: Culinary Institute of America (6-3, 0-1 HVIAC)
Date/Time: Saturday, January 17 • 1:00 p.m.
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Arena: The Hill Center • Frank P. Carbone Court
Coverage: Live stats | Video | Game Program

Quick Links

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

Storylines

• On Wednesday night, the Bears (9-6) flirted with an upset but hit a cold stretch late, ultimately falling 79-60 to NJIT in Newark, N.J. in a challenging test versus a Division I opponent. The Highlanders entered the matchup fresh off of a victory over Yale and previously claimed a massive upset win over No. 17 ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor on December 6. Despite this, the upset-minded Bears hung around into the second-half.
• Matt O'Neill provided a key spark for the Bears' struggling offense on Wednesday, scoring a game-high 23 on three triples. Alec Willis poured in 17 points, one shy of his career-best. The freshman did manage a new career mark from three, connecting five times from long range.
• Saturday's clash will be the Bears' second HVIAC game of the season. The Bears opened their conference schedule on November 19 with a comfortable 79-46 triumph over Pratt.
• Culinary holds a 6-3 record after opening the season with four consecutive wins. They fell big at Berkeley 102-56 on December 13 in their only conference meeting thus far.
• Michael Megafu (16.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg) is the fifth leading scorer in the HVIAC and ranks third in the conference in rebounding. The junior also sits comfortably atop the HVIAC with a blistering hot 59.5 shooting percentage.
• David Louison leads all of Division III with eleven double-doubles this season. The senior ranks ninth in the HVIAC in scoring (14.1 ppg) and second in rebounding (11.2 rpg).
• O'Neill is the seventh leading scorer (14.9 ppg) in the HIVAC and the crafty junior guard leads the conference with a 3.5 steals per game average.
• Culinary guard Robert Yoakum, only a freshman, leads his team and the HVIAC with 19.2 points per contest.

Series History

St. Joseph's boasts an unblemished 10-0 record in the series history dating back to December 4, 2005. The Bears have imposed their will on the Steels, winning by double-digits in nine of the ten meetings and by an average margin of 27.5 points.

Last Meeting

On February 8, 2014, the Bears overcame a slow start to defeat Culinary 87-61 in a late-season HVIAC matchup. With the victory, St. Joseph's concluded the 2013-14 HVIAC regular season undefeated for the first time since 2009-10. The Bears improved to 15-9 and 7-0 in conference play while Culinary dropped their ninth straight.

Michael Megafu recorded his 15^th double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds, adding four assists and two steals. David Louison poured in a game-high 18 on 9-of-12 shooting and added seven rebounds and five steals.

St. Joseph's would go on to claim their next three games, including the HVIAC Tournament Championship vs. Vaughn.

The Bear Facts

Following a challenging test versus a Division I opponent, the 9-6 Bears will play five crucial conference games in the next month beginning with Culinary. Saturday's clash will be the Bears' second HVIAC game of the season. St. Joseph's currently sits third in the HVIAC standings after opening their conference schedule on November 19 with a comfortable 79-46 triumph over Pratt.

Three Bears currently sit in the top ten in HVIAC scoring. Michael Megafu (16.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg) is the fifth leading scorer in the HVIAC and ranks third in the conference in rebounding. The junior also sits comfortably atop the conference with a blistering 59.5 shooting percentage. David Louison leads all of Division III with eleven double-doubles this season. The senior ranks ninth in the HVIAC in scoring (14.1 ppg) and second in rebounding (11.2 rpg).

Matt O'Neill is coming off a game-high 23 points against Division I NJIT, saving his highest total of the season for the Bears' toughest opponent. O'Neill is the seventh leading scorer (14.9 ppg) in the HIVAC and the crafty junior guard leads the conference with a 3.5 steals per game average.

Alec Willis has buried 11 triples in his last three games, including a career-high five in hostile territory at NJIT. The freshman guard is the team's primary ball-handler and ranks fourth on the Bears in scoring, averaging 7.1 points.

Bears Last Time Out

St. Joseph's 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 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 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 chipped in nine and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

St. Joseph's 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. In the second-half, with 15:32 remaining, 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.

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.

Dicing the Opposition

Coming off a 6-10 finish in 2013-14, the improved Steels currently hold a 6-3 record after opening the season with four consecutive wins. They fell big at Berkeley 102-56 on December 13 in their only conference meeting thus far.

Guard Robert Yoakum and forward Avery Britton provide the bulk of the offense for Culinary. Yoakum, only a freshman, leads his team and the HVIAC with 19.2 point per contest. The sophomore Britton averages 12.4 points and is the team's premier presence on the glass, averaging 8.6 rebounds.

Culinary Last Time Out

Culinary dropped to 6-3 after falling to SUNY ESF 82-55 on January 10. The Steels kept things manageable in the first, trailing 33-28 at the intermission. But the flood gates opened up in the second as ESF outscored visiting Culinary 49-27 to seal the victory.

Sophomore Avery Britton led Culinary with 15 on 6-of-13 shooting, including three from deep. Freshman Robert Yoakum provided addition offense with 14 points on top off three rebounds and three dimes.

Next Up for the Bears

The Bears will stay put in their new Hill Center home, hosting York (N.Y.) on Monday, January 19 at 7 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.