Slow Second Half Start Plagues Men's Basketball in USCAA Quarterfinal Loss to Rochester

UNIONTOWN, Pa. – The sixth-seeded St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team (18-10) fell short in their quest for an upset in the quarterfinal round of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division I National Championships, losing 82-75 to No. 3 Rochester College (21-9) on Wednesday on the campus of Penn State Fayette.

Fresh off his USCAA Division I Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year award and third straight First Team All-American selection last night, David Louison (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) notched his 20th double-double of the season on Wednesday, finishing with team highs in points (19) and boards (14).

Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) netted 13 on 3-of-7 shooting from three-point range. The junior added six rebounds, five assists and pair of steals in another well-rounded performance.

Freshman Alec Willis (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) shot 5-of-8 from the floor and drained a pair of triples en route to 14 points, while junior Michael Megafu (Jamaica, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) fell just short of another double-double, finishing with eight points and eight caroms.

Senior Vernon Maddox (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) contributed seven points, three rebounds and an assist off the bench.

In a matchup of two USCAA First Team All-Americans, sophomore Paris Pereira led four Warriors in double figures, finishing with game highs in points (22) and dimes (7).

The Bears held the upper hand in the opening minutes, connecting on their first five shots and building a 12-6 lead following O'Neill's three-pointer at the 16:18 mark.

Rochester came alive with a quick 7-0 run to claim their first lead (13-12) with 13:59 left in the first. St. Joseph's was able to withstand the push and hold their ground. Another trifecta from O'Neill put the Bears back on top (22-19) midway through the period.

But the Warriors quickly erased the deficit, unleashing a 14-0 run to claim their first double-digit separation. In a swingy first half, St. Joseph's then countered with a 13-2 spurt in the final seven minutes to enter the break within striking distance (35-31).

The Warriors opened the new period with a 15-1 explosion in a span of 2:39, including eight points from Pereira.

With momentum slipping away, the Bears battled back and chipped away at the deficit to keep their tournament hopes alive. Maddox buried a key triple with 11:44 remaining to close out a 19-9 run and bring his team back within single digits (59-51).

With just 4:23 left, Louison's layup made the score 69-61 in favor of Rochester as the Bears continued to hand around. But the Warriors put the final dagger on St. Joseph's comeback hopes, scoring six unanswered and holding the Bears scoreless in the next 2:23 to move up 75-61 with two minutes to play.

St. Joseph's continued to fight until the final buzzer, cutting the deficit to just five points with 16 seconds remaining. But Rochester would close out the victory, advancing to the semifinals and moving one step closer to their second National Championship in three years.

The Bears shot an efficient 44.8 percent from the floor, draining 9-of-21 (42.9%) from long range. But they hampered their effort with 16 turnovers and were outrebounded (44-35) for just the ninth time this season.

St. Joseph's will conclude their season with a consolation matchup against No. 7 Iowa Wesleyan College tomorrow. Live stats and video can be found at SJCBears.com.