Archer Pours in Career-High 32 As Men's Basketball Upends Defending Champs Sage

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Senior Jamir Archer's (Staten Island, N.Y./CSI/McCown) led five Bears in double figures with a career-high 32-point performance, 20 of which came in a second half that saw the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team outscore Sage College 54-32 to take a 101-85 victory over the second-place Gators in a Skyline Conference meeting on Wednesday night at The Hill Center.

The Basics

• Final Score: St. Joseph's 101, Sage 85
• Records: St. Joseph's (10-7, 7-6 Skyline), Sage (10-7, 8-4 Skyline)
• Date: January 20, 2016
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Arena: The Hill Center
• Starters:
  • St. Joseph's: Murray (G), O'Neill (G), Willis (G), Megafu (F), Archer (F)
  • Sage: Robinson (G), McCray (G), Patterson (G), Gill (F), Ford (F)

Turning Point

• Trailing 82-78 with 7:02 remaining and struggling to control momentum, the Bears ran off eight straight points to jumpstart a dominant 23-3 stretch to close the game and stun second-place Sage.

How it Happened

• Michael Murray opened scoring with a three-pointer 27 seconds into play. Though tightly contested, it would be the Bears' only lead of the first half.
• The threatening Bears drew within 41-39 with 3:23 remaining in the first, but the Gators finished strong to enter the break nursing a 53-47 lead.
• Archer's layup final drew St. Joseph's even less than four minutes into the second half.
• Roughly one minute later at the 14:27 mark, another Archer layup moved the Bears up 64-62, their first lead since Murray's opening triple.
• The Gators fought off the surging Bears, reclaiming an 80-75 advantage with 8:03 left to play following Andre Robinson's three-pointer.
• St. Joseph's ensuing 8-0 push, capped by Michael Megafu's field goal at the 4:30 mark, made it 86-82 in favor of the home team and began a 23-3 outburst to put away the Gators for good. The Bears held the visitors without a field goal for nearly six full minutes over the span and just one field goal over the final 7:02.

For the Bears

• Jamir Archer led all scorers with a career-best 32 points, including a dominant 20-point second half effort to kickstart the Bears' comeback. The senior also corralled 11 boards for his third double-double of the season.
• Senior Michael Megafu compiled his 10th double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
• Senior Matt O'Neill filled the statsheet with 15 points, seven boards, seven assists and four thefts.
• Senior Michael Murray chipped in 13 helped by a 3-of-4 performance from long range
• Christian Giles also netted 13 coming off the bench, a new Bears-high for the junior transfer.

For the Gators

• Coming off the bench, Rob Mills contributed a team-best 22 on 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range.
• Andre Robinson scored 17 in addition to five boards, five assists and a pair of steals.
• Travis Gill shot 6-of-13 from the field en route to a 16-point effort.
• Melvin Ford secured a double-double in a losing effort, finishing with 11 points and game-high 14 rebounds.

Inside the Box Score

• St. Joseph's was lights out in the second half, shooting a blistering 61.8 percent (21-34) from the field. The Bears finished the game at 54.3 percent (38-of-70), their highest output of the season.
• Their defense was equally stout in the second, holding Sage to 33.3 percent (12-36) and just 32 points.
• Each side was lights out from beyond-the-arc in a high scoring affair, with the Bears draining 9-of-23 (39.1%) and the Gators hitting 11-of-25 (44.0%).
• The selfless Bears compiled a 26-12 assist advantage, highlighted by 19 assists on 21 made field goals in the second stanza.
• It's the first time this season two Bears recorded double-doubles in the same game.

The Bear Facts

• Coming alive in the home stretch, the Bears crossed the century mark for the second time this season, matching their season high.
• In a crucial Skyline Conference faceoff, seventh place St. Joseph's improves to 7-6 in league play and despite the loss, the the 8-4 Gators remain in a tie for second with Farmingdale State.
• It was the first meeting in history between the two schools, with the Bears drawing first blood.
• The Bears will travel to Albany, N.Y. on February 3rd for the conference rematch.
• The three-game win streak is the longest of the season.

Next up for St. Joseph's

Continuing a stretch of six straight Skyline Conference games, the Bears will look to build on an upset victory welcoming College of Mount Saint Vincent to The Hill Center on Saturday, February 23rd to start off a doubleheader with the women. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. with live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.