Megafu Records 50th Double-Double as Men's Basketball Falls to SJC Long Island

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. — Senior Michael Megafu (Jamaica, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) recorded his 50th career double-double with 15 points and a game-high 18 rebounds leading three in double figures, but the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team couldn't overcome a poor second-half shooting effort as sibling rivals St. Joseph's College (Long Island) pulled away for a 72-66 victory in the first Skyline Conference meeting between the two campuses on Tuesday night.

The Basics

• Final Score: SJC Long Island 72, SJC Brooklyn 66
• Records:  SJC Long Island (3-5, 2-1 Skyline), SJC Brooklyn (4-3, 3-2 Skyline),
• Date: December 8, 2015
• Location: Patchogue, N.Y.
• Arena: Danzi Athletic Center
• Starters:
  • SJC-BK: Murray (G), O'Neill (G), Willis (G), Archer (F), Megafu (F)
  • SLC-LI: Laurent (G), Cohen (G), Spann (F), Moore (F), Vazquez (F)

Turning Point

• The Golden Eagles outscored the Bears 11-4 over the final 2:33, draining a trio of three-pointers to bring about the 14th lead change of the game and carried it to the final buzzer.

How it Happened

• The Bears used an early 12-2 run over five minutes to pull ahead 15-6, the largest separation of the contest.
• Long Island trimmed the deficit to two before Brooklyn pushed the lead back up to nine again, 28-19, on a Joe Idyahia trifecta and a Michael Megafu layup. But a late Golden Eagle surge in the final minute of the half saw the Bears lead dwindle to 32-30 heading into the lockers.
• A Fernando Vazquez three-ball to open the new period gave the lead back to the hosts and the teams traded the lead throughout the period, neither able to build more than a four-point cushion.
• With the Bears trailing by four, a Matt O'Neill trifecta cut the deficit to one with 1:48 to play, but Long Island responded with a Stephen Cohen triple and Brooklyn missed their final five attempts finishing the half shooting just 31 percent (11-35) while the hosts connected at a 60 percent rate (15-25).

For the Bears

• Matt O'Neill scored a team-high 16 points, draining three trifectas, dishing out four assists and pulling down three rebounds.
• Michael Megafu recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 18 rebounds, also dishing out four assists.
• Jamir Archer fell one point shy of his career high with 15 points, sinking 5-of-5 from the charity stripe, and securing eight caroms.
• Joseph Idyahia came off the bench to shoot 3-of-6 en route to a career-high tying eight points, also swiping three steals.

For the Golden Eagles

• Skyline leading scorer Andy Laurent netted a game-high 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting, and 5-of-11 from distance, also dishing out five assists in 39 minutes of action.
• Fernando Vazquez added 17 points and four assists.
• Stephen Cohen chipped in 12 points and six boards rounding out three in double-figures.

Inside the Box Score

• Brooklyn led for the majority of the game (24:00) in the game that saw three ties and 14 lead changes.
• The Bears won the battle of the boards, 42-36 and controlled the offensive glass (16-3) to maintain a 14-3 edge in second chance scoring.
• Long Island forced 14 Brooklyn turnovers, matching their season worst. The Bears lead the Skyline in fewest turnovers and turnover differential.
• The Bears entered the game the Skyline leader in steals (9.7) but were held to a season-low five thefts.

The Bear Facts

• Megafu records his 50th career double-double in his 89th game played and is the Division III active leader in the category.
• Long Island pulls ahead 3-5 in the series and snaps a three-game Brooklyn streak.
• The Bears and Golden Eagles will meet again on Thursday, January 7, 2016 in The Hill Center to close out the home-and-home series.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Bears return home to The Hill Center welcoming Farmingdale State on Thursday, December 10 opening a Skyline doubleheader with the women. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m. with live stats and video available on SJCBears.com