Men's Basketball Seeks to Clinch No. 2 Seed in Regular Season Finale against Albany Pharmacy on Saturday

ALBANY, N.Y.–The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team (16-8, 4-1 HVIAC) will close out the 2014-15 regular season in Albany, N.Y. on Saturday with a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) meeting against Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at 3 p.m. If victorious, the Bears will clinch the No. 2 seed heading into the HVIAC Tournament beginning on Saturday, February 21.

Game Information

Opponent: Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (5-13, 3-2 HVIAC)
Date/Time: Saturday, February 14 • 3:00 p.m.
Location: Albany, N.Y.
Arena: Albert M. White Gymnasium

Quick Links

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

Storylines

• With the HVIAC regular season title at stake on Senior Night this Thursday, St. Joseph's (16-8, 4-1 HVIAC) dropped a tightly contested affair 77-68 to Berkeley College, losing their first game at The Hill Center (9-1) and in conference play.
• Saturday will mark the Bears' final regular season contest of the 2014-15 campaign. With a victory, St. Joseph's will clinch the No. 2 seed heading into the HVIAC playoffs beginning on Saturday, February 21.
• On Thursday, David Louison fittingly finished his last game at The Hill Center with another double-double, his seventeenth of the season, recording team highs in points (16) and boards (13). The senior also swatted a school record seven shots, picking up the slack under the rim with fellow forward Michael Megafu out due to injury.
• Louison and Megafu are each averaging double-doubles and are tied for fourth in the HVIAC in scoring (16.2 ppg).
• Louison also leads his team and sits second in the conference in rebounding (11.1 rpg), while Megafu leads the HVIAC with an efficient 61.5 shooting percentage and ranks third in the conference in boards (10.1 rpg).
• Despite their 5-13 overall record, the Panthers have claimed three of five against HVIAC opponents and are still in the hunt for the No. 2 seed ahead of next week's conference tournament.
• Albany Pharmacy will enter Saturday's contest on a positive note, snapping a five-game skid on Wednesday behind a 40-10 first-half outburst, cruising past Word of Life Bible Institute 69-47.

Series History

The two sides have clashed 15 times in the series history dating back to 2002. The Bears have maintained a significant edge over the Panthers, coming out on top in 12 of the 15 meetings, including the last five.

Last Meeting

On February 15, 2014, the Bears advanced to the HVIAC Tournament finals with an impressive 73-56 semifinal victory over the Panthers.

Leading the St. Joseph's attack was the double-double combo of Michael Megafu and David Louison. Megafu led the way with a game-high 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Louison contributed 16 points and had a game-high-tying 13 caroms. The forward also finished with four assists, two steals and three blocks.

With the win, St. Joseph's advanced to their tenth straight championship game where they would eventually overthrow Vaughn College to claim their first title since the 2009-10 season.

The Bear Facts

With the HVIAC regular season title at stake on Senior Night this Thursday, St. Joseph's (16-8, 4-1 HVIAC) dropped a tightly contested affair 77-68 to Berkeley College, losing their first game at The Hill Center (9-1) and in conference play. Despite the setback, the Bears are still victors of seven of their previous nine and are playing their best basketball of the season with the playoffs on the horizon.

Saturday will mark the Bears' final regular season contest of the 2014-15 campaign. With a victory, St. Joseph's will clinch the No. 2 seed heading into the HVIAC Tournament beginning on Saturday, February 21.

The Bears have excelled on the defensive end all season, allowing a conference-low 67.5 points per contest.

Bears Probable Starters

• Alec Willis (G): Only a freshman, Willis ranks second on the Bears in triples (39), third in minutes (32.1 mpg) and fifth in scoring (7.7 ppg).
• Matt O'Neill (G): The junior guard leads the HVIAC in assists (4.4 apg) and ranks ninth in the conference in scoring (13.7 ppg).
• Greg Beehler (G): The sharpshooter leads the Bears in three-point percentage (40.0) and is averaging 9.0 points in his last five games.
• Michael Megafu (F): The junior is tied for fourth in the HVIAC in scoring (16.2 ppg), leads the conference with a 61.5 shooting percentage and sits third in boards (10.1 rpg).
• David Louison (F): In his final game at The Hill Center, the senior recorded his seventeenth double-double of the season and set a new Bears' record with seven rejections.

Bears Last Time Out

With the HVIAC regular season title on the line on Senior Night in front of a packed Hill Center crowd, the No. 2 ranked St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team (16-8, 4-1 HVIAC) dropped a hard-fought battle 77-68 to No. 1 Berkeley College (17-5, 6-0 HVIAC). The Bears fell just short of clinching their second consecutive HVIAC regular season title.

David Louison fittingly finished his last game at The Hill Center with another double-double, his seventeenth of the season, recording team highs in points (16) and boards (13). The senior also swatted a school record seven shots, picking up the slack under the rim with fellow forward Michael Megafu out due to injury.

Junior Matt O'Neill also dropped 16 on a pair of triples in addition to two assists and three thefts while freshman Alec Willis and junior Richard DiPuma each sunk three from downtown en route to 11 points apiece off the bench.

Berkeley claimed their largest advantage of the night (66-54) with just 6:11 remaining, but O'Neill kept the Bears afloat by draining a pair from long range to cut the deficit in half. Two clutch Louison free-throws made it a one-possession affair (71-68) with just 1:56 left to play. But the Knights held St. Joseph's scoreless the rest of the way to clinch the top seed in the conference.

Bears Among the NCAA Division III Leaders

David Louison's 17 double-doubles this season are good for third in all of Division III. Louison now has 1,622 career points, seventh most among active DIII players. The senior is also the division's active career leader in total rebounds (1,143) and double-doubles (57).

Michael Megafu has hovered around 60 percent shooting all season and the efficient junior currently ranks 13^th in DIII with a 61.5 field goal percentage. Megafu has converted on 66.7 percent (16-24) of shot attempts in his last two games.

Coming off a three-steal game against Berkeley, guard Matt O'Neill sits fifth in Division III with a 3.1 steals per game average.

On the Prowl

Despite their 5-13 overall record, the Panthers have claimed three of five against HVIAC opponents and are still in the hunt for the No. 2 seed ahead of the conference playoffs. Albany Pharmacy entered last season's tournament as the No. 4 seed, ultimately falling to the top-seeded Bears in the semifinals.

The Panthers will enter Saturday's contest on a positive note, breaking a five-game losing streak on Wednesday after imposing their will on Word of Life Bible Institute in a 69-47 victory.

Senior Ryan McVaigh (12.1 ppg) and freshman Alex Johnson (11.7 ppg) pace the Panthers on the offensive end. Senior Emmanuel Okafor leads his team and ranks fifth in the HVIAC in rebounding, averaging 8.7 caroms per contest.

Albany Pharmacy Last Time Out

The Panthers snapped a five-game skid on Wednesday behind a 40-10 first-half outburst, cruising past Word of Life Bible Institute 69-47 in Albany, N.Y.

Ryan McVaigh led all scorers with 19, drilling 4-of-8 from deep. The senior also pulled down 10 boards for the double-double. Freshman Alex Johnson chipped in 13 points and five caroms.

Next Up for the Bears – HVIAC Tournament

After closing out their regular season schedule on Saturday, the Bears will look forward to the HVIAC semifinals on Saturday, February 21 in Albany, N.Y.