Men's Basketball Rely On Defense Late, Squeak Out 72-69 Win Over York

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team utilized suffocating defensive pressure in the final minutes to improve to 11-6 and 4-0 at the Hill Center with a tightly contested 72-69 victory over York (N.Y.).

Alec Willis (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) continued his onslaught from long range, recording career-highs in three-pointers (6) and points (19). The freshman has 15 triples in his last three games.

The reliable David Louison (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) tallied his second consecutive double-double with a team-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. The senior added three assists, a steal and a highlight reel-worthy rejection.

Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) set up his teammates all night, distributing a career-best 11 helpers, one shy of the school record. Eleven assists has been reached just four times in St. Joseph's history, the last coming by Przemyslaw Kudla vs. Sara Lawrence in 2008. O'Neill also netted 10 points to complete his first double-double of the season.

Michael Megafu (Jamaica, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) narrowly missed out on a third Bear double-double, chipping in 12 points and eight boards for another strong all-around effort.

Ten different Cardinals got on the scoreboard. Senior Jaron Williams dropped a game-high 22 for York on 9-of-14 shooting.

The Cardinals jumped on the Bears early, opening the contest with an 8-0 run culminated by senior Omar St. John's triple at the 17:49 mark.

But St. Joseph's remained composed and, less than five minutes later, claimed a 15-13 advantage after O'Neill connected from deep.

The teams traded baskets the remainder of the half and entered the intermission knotted at 36.

St. Joseph's made their first significant push with an 8-0 run capped by Megafu's layup with 11:15 remaining in the contest. The Bears would protect the lead the rest of the night but York would remain a threat until the final buzzer.

With just 1:04 left to play, Williams' powerful slam brought the Cardinals within one point (70-69). York had three opportunities in the final half-minute of play to tie or move ahead, but the Bears' suffocating defense forced a turnover each time.

St. Joseph's finished 49.1 percent from the floor and shot lights out from deep tonight, connecting on 10-of-20.

In a contest that saw eight ties and seven lead changes, the Bears hit timely threes and forced miscues late to claim their first win in history over York.

The Bears will cap off a three-game homestand at the Hill Center, hosting Vaughn on Wednesday, January 21 at 8 p.m. for a conference clash. Live stats and video can be found at SJCBears.com.