Cocozello Notches 200th Career Win as Men's Basketball Takes Wire-to-Wire Victory over Ferrum

SALEM, Va. — Five Bears reached double figures led by Matt O'Neill's (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) game-high-tying 22 points as the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team never trailed en route to an 84-74 season-opening victory over Ferrum College in the first round of the Dick Leftwich V-Foundation Classic. The victory gives 14th-year head coach Joseph Cocozello his 200th career win.

The Basics

• Final Score:  St. Joseph's 84, Ferrum 74
• Records: St. Joseph's (1-0), Ferrum (1-1)
• Tournament: Dick Leftwich V-Foundation Classic – First Round
• Location: Salem, Va.
• Arena: C. Homer Bast Center – Roanoke College

Turning Point

After leading by as many as 14 in the second half, the Bears saw their lead dwindle to four with 3:29 to go. But the Bears quickly pushed the lead back up to nine, 78-69, after crucial steals from O'Neill and Jamir Archer on back-to-back Panther possessions.

How it Happened

• Both teams shot evenly over the first 20 minutes, but the Bears opened an early 9-4 lead fter seven straight points from Archer in the first three minutes and would never trail again.
• Archer finished with 11 first-half points on 5-of-5 shooting and O'Neill added 10 points helping SJC build as large as a 13 point lead before carring a 41-35 lead into the lockers.
• The Bears pushed the lead to nine on an Alec Willis triple out of the break, but eight unanswered from the Panthers trimmed the lead to one, 46-45, just three-and-a-half minutes in.
• With the SJC lead hovering around five for most of the half, a 9-0 spurt over four minutes, sparked by a Michael Megafu and-one, built the largest lead of the game at 14 with 6:52 to play.
• Ferrum closed the deficit to four, but the Bears shot 6-of-7 from the free throw line (O'Neill 4-4) down the stretch to seal the milestone victory for Coach Cocozello.  

For the Bears

• Matt O'Neill stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points on 9-of-19 shooting, pulling down six rebounds, swiping five steals and dishing out three assists.
• Michael Megafu added 17 points and grabbed a team-high seven boards.
• Jamir Archer tallied 14 points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting.
• In his Bears debut, Justin Manon added 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting and secured two caroms.
• Alec Willis rounded out five in double figures with 12 points and a pair of assists and rebounds.
• Christian Giles dished out a team-high six assists and grabbed three boards in his first game in a Bears uniform.

For the Panthers

• Rashawn Speas had 22 points and fell one rebound shy of a double-double
• Austin Rose had 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting
• Josh Grimard accumulated 15 points, three rebounds and two assists.

The Bear Facts

• Cocozello reaches the milestone win in 373 games, commencing his 14th season.
• It is the first meeting all-time against Ferrum
• The Bears are victorious in back-to-back season openers and three of their last four.

Next Up for St. Joseph's

The Bears advance to the championship game of the Dick Leftwich V-Foundation Class tomorrow at 1 p.m. facing hosts Roanoke College. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com