Men's Basketball Suffers First Skyline Loss as Second-Half Rally Falls Short at Mount Saint Vincent

RIVERDALE, N.Y. — Senior Michael Megafu (Jamaica, N.Y./Nazareth) had a near double-double with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds and classmate Jamir Archer (Staten Island, N.Y./CSI/McCown) added 12 points but the Bears second-half rally that erased a 10-point deficit would come up short as the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketballed team dropped a 76-68 Skyline Conference decision to the College of Mount Saint Vincent on Monday night.

The Basics

• Final Score: Mount Saint Vincent 76, St Joseph's 68
• Records: Mount Saint Vincent (3-2, 2-0 Skyline), St. Joseph's (2-2, 1-1 Skyline)
• Location: Riverdale, N.Y.
• Arena: Peter Jay Sharp Center
• Starters:
  • SJC: Murray (G), O'Neill (G), Willis (G), Archer (F), Megafu (F)
  • CMSV: Ferebee (G), Sowah (G), Martinez (G), Mulligan (F), Alkhulaidi (F)

Turning Point

• With the Bears clinging to a one-point lead, the Dolphins used a 9-0 run over 2:05 to build a 62-54 lead with 6:22 to play and never trailed again.

How it Happened

• The hosts built an early lead as the Bears struggled to find the touch early. After falling behind by as many as nine, a 12-0 Bears run powered by eight straight from Megafu, gave SJC their first lead of the game, 16-13, at the 7:13 mark.
• But the Bears finished shooting just 27 percent (9-34) over the opening 20 and CMSV pulled away again leading by 10 before carrying a 35-27 lead into the lockers.
• With the Dolphins maintaining an eight-point advantage, O'Neill scored seven points over an 11-0 run that gave the Bears a 49-46 lead nearing the midway point of the second half.
• The teams traded the lead three more times before the hosts built an eight-point lead on a Madison Martinez trifecta at the 6:22 mark.
• An O'Neill steal and layup with 1:54 to play would bring the Bears to within a possession, 68-65, but SJC couldn't get any closer and CMSV pulled away at the line.

For the Bears

• Michael Megafu had a near double-double with a game-high 21 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the charity stripe, securing nine caroms, rejecting three shots and dishing out a pair of assists.
• Jamir Archer shot 6-of-9 from the floor for 12 points, also grabbing six boards.
• Matt O'Neill netted 11 points, swiped six steals and grabbed as many boards and handed out a pair of assists.
• Michael Murray chipped in 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, pulling down two rebounds.

For the Dolphins

• Jamir Ferebee scored a team-high-tying 17 points with 11 rebounds for a double-double
• Madison Martinez shared team-high honors with 5-of-10 shooting and 4-of-8 from behind-the-arc, along with five rebounds and four assists.
• Ammad Alkulaidi added 14 points with a game-high 15 boards for a double-double.

Inside the Box Score

• The Dolphins held a slight advantage in shooting finishing at a 39 percent (23-59) connect rate while the Bears hit at 36 percent (22-62). The hosts did most of their damage from three-point land sinking 11 triples at a 44 percent clip.
• CMSV maintained 51-35 rebounding edge, holding SJC to a season low.
• The Bears protected the ball well committing just 11 turnovers, and converted 20 Dolphin miscues into a 22-9 edge in points off turnovers.
• There were five ties and 10 lead changes.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Bears return to the comforts of home hosting SUNY College at Old Westbury at the Hill Center on Wednesday, December 2. The men cap off the Skyline Conference twin bill with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. Live stats and video available on SJCBears.com.