Men's Basketball Closes Regular Season with Win, Clinches No. 2 Seed Heading into HVIAC Tournament

ALBANY, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team (17-8, 5-1 HVIAC) rode a strong second-half to put away Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (5-14, 3-3 HVIAC) 65-52 on Saturday afternoon in their regular season finale, clinching the No. 2 seed heading into the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) Tournament next week.

In a game in which both sides shot under 40 percent from the floor, David Louison (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) led the offensive attack in his final regular season game in a Bears uniform, dropping a game-high 25 on 12-of-23 shooting. The senior also grabbed a game-best 16 boards to secure his eighteenth double-double of the season.

Junior Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) stuffed the statsheet with nine points, nine rebounds and game highs in assists (7) and thefts (5).

Junior Jamir Archer (Staten Island, N.Y./CSI/McCown) netted 11 and corralled seven boards while senior Vernon Maddox (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) added eight points, two rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals off the bench.

First-year player Alex Johnson carried the Panthers offensively, pouring in 19 to go along with nine caroms.

The Bears held the early advantage in play until junior Michael Beyer sunk a triple to give the Panthers their first lead (16-14) at the 10:10 mark of the first.

St. Joseph's deficit ballooned to double-digits (26-16) less than three minutes later following Johnson's three-pointer, culminating Albany Pharmacy's 17-2 outburst and forcing a Bears' timeout.

But St. Joseph's closed the half with their own furious rally, exploding for an 18-6 run capped by Archer's layup in the final minute that gave his team a slight 34-32 advantage heading into the intermission.

Less than seven minutes into the second stanza, the Bears had built their lead up to double-digits (47-36) following Greg Beehler's (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) trey.

Louison's jumper with 7:30 remaining moved St. Joseph's up 58-41, their largest separation of the afternoon. The Bears cruised to the final whistle, outscoring the Panthers 31-20 in the second period.

In a defensive game that saw only three players reach double-figure scoring, St. Joseph's connected on just 36.5 percent (27-74) of their baskets while Albany Pharmacy shot 37.7 percent (23-61).

But the Bears protected the rock, claiming a 14-4 turnover advantage, and allowed just nine baskets in a dominant second-half.

St. Joseph's will now shift their attention to the HVIAC Tournament beginning on Saturday, February 21, when the No. 2 Bears will meet No. 3 Vaughn College (13-12, 4-2 HVIAC) at 4 p.m. in Albany, N.Y. In their only meeting of the season on January 21, St. Joseph's coasted to a 96-75 victory at The Hill Center. Live stats for the game will be available at SJCBears.com.