O'Neill Becomes SJC Theft King as Men's Basketball Battles Farmingdale

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Senior Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) swiped six steals to take over sole possession of the SJC all-time thefts record and netted a team-high 24 points in the process, but third-place Farmingdale St. buried nine three-pointers in a 58-point first half, downing the the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team 100-80 on Saturday night.

The Basics

• Final Score: Farmingdale St. 100, St. Joseph's 80
• Records: Farmingdale St. (12-11, 12-6 Skyline), St. Joseph's (12-12, 9-10 Skyline)
• Date: February 13, 2016
• Location: Farmingdale, N.Y.
• Arena: Walter A. Lynch Sports Center
• Starters:
  • St. Joseph's: Parr (G), O'Neill (G), Willis (G), Archer (F), Megafu (F)
  • Farmingdale St.: Graham (G), Kinloch (G), Kinard (G), Riefenstahl (F), Irvine (F)

Turning Point

• The first half was competitive early, but Farmingdale outpaced St. Joseph's 17-4 in the final 4:32 to enter the intermission leading 58-39.

How it Happened

• A pair of layups from Jamir Archer and a three-pointer from Alex Willis had the Bears leading 7-2 less than two minutes into play.
• The Rams fired off 11 consecutive points in a 2:00 minute span to move up 13-7 by the 16:20 mark.
• A short time later, Farmingdale claimed their first double-digit advantage, 25-15, but Christian Giles' triple and Michael Megafu's layup quickly cut that lead in half.
• Farmingdale controlled the end of a busy first half, outpacing the Bears 17-4 in the final 4:32 to enter the intermission leading 58-39.
• By the 12:39 mark of the second, the cruising Rams claimed a 71-49 advantage for their largest separation of the game and the Bears would unable to draw closer than 14 the rest of the way.

For the Bears

• Matt O'Neill led St. Joseph's with 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting, finding the bottom of the net three times from downtown. The crafty senior also swiped a game-best six steals, his 20th career game with five-or-more steals.
• Michael Megafu flirted with his 13th double-double, contributing 19 points and nine boards and making 11-of-14 from the free-throw line. The senior added six assists and four thefts in a strong all-around effort.
• Senior Jamir Archer added seven points, five rebounds and one block.
• Freshman Aaron Parra delivered a career-high eight points on 4-of-5 shooting off the bench.

For the Rams

• George Riefenstahl recorded game highs in points (25) and rebounds (14) for the double-double.
• Trey Kinard dropped 24 on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range, adding four helpers and three steals.
• Matthew Graham added 15 on 6-of-11 shooting with three boards and one dime.

Inside the Box Score

• The Rams finished 51.4 percent (37-72) shooting from the floor. They were paced by 57.5-percent first half shooting, draining 9-of-10 three-pointers in the opening stanza.
• The Bears shot 36.6 percent (26-71), including a 48.3-percent first-half performance, but were unable to keep pace with Farmingdale's three-point barrage.
• Led by George Riefenstahl, the Rams outrebounded St. Joseph's 55-36, including 19 on the offensive end, leading to 42 points in the paint and 26 second-chance points.

The Bear Facts

• St. Joseph's falls to 9-10 in the Skyline Conference and, with one regular season game remaining, will try to hold onto the sixth-and-final playoff spot.
• Following an overtime victory on December 10, third-place Farmingdale sweeps the season series against the Bears.
• Entering the game, Matt O'Neill was one steal shy of tying the career SJC record. With a game-high six thefts, O'Neill moves into sole possession of the record with 299 and counting.

Next up for St. Joseph's

Looking to secure the sixth-and-final playoff spot, the Bears will close their regular season schedule on Wednesday, February 17 hosting Maritime College at The Hill Center and celebrate Senior Night honoring seven seniors—Michael Megafu, Matt O'Neill, Michael Murray, Jamir Archer, Nolan Parr, Carlos Mayorga, and Rodolph Mesadieu—in a pre-game ceremony starting at 6:30 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. tip-off. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com.