Men's Basketball Unable to Overcome First-Half Hole Dropping NCI Consolation to Potsdam

POTSDAM, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) utilized a balanced offensive attack but another late first-half run by the opposition put the Bears at a deficit they couldn't overcome dropping an 85-68 decision to SUNY Potsdam on Saturday afternoon in the consolation of the North Country Invitational. Sophomore Aaron Parra (Brooklyn, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) led the Bears with team highs on nine points and 11 rebounds and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Basics

• Final Score: SUNY Potsdam 85, St Joseph's 68
• Records: SUNY Potsdam (1-2), St. Joseph's (0-2)
• Location: Potsdam, N.Y.
• Arena: Alumni Gymnasium
• SJC Starters: Willis (G), Giles (G), Idyahia (G), Parra (F), Meiner (F)

Turning Point

• St. Joseph's was held scoreless over the final 4:16 of the first half as SUNY Potsdam went on an 8-0 run and took a 14-point lead into the lockers.

How it Happened

• After a Potsdam three-pointer to open the contest, the Bears scored six straight off jumpers from Alec Willis, Joseph Idyahia and Aaron Parra to take an early 6-3 lead.
• Potsdam responded with an 8-0 run to go on top for good 13-8. Potsdam grew their lead to as large as eight before an Idyahia trifecta pulled the St. Joseph's back within three with 6:34 before the intermission but that would be closest SJC would get as the foes would close out the half scoring the final eight points and entered the lockers up 36-22.
• Potsdam extended their lead to 24 just five minutes into the second stanza and St. Joseph's could never bring the deficit any smaller than 14 the rest of the way.

For the Bears

• Sophomore Aaron Parra set new career highs scoring a team-high-tying nine points and pulling down 11 rebounds in 22 minutes of action.
• Freshman Anthony Iglesias came off the bench to also score nine points draining 3-of-4 from three-point land and grabbing three boards.
• Freshman Sebastien Etheart netted eight points and grabbed four rebounds while brother Stephane Etheart chipped in six points with eight boards.
• Starters Kavan Meiner, Joseph Idyahia and Alec Willis each contributed seven points each. Meiner secured six caroms and swiped three steals while Willis dished out three assists.

Inside the Box Score

• St. Joseph's held a 44-40 rebounding edge and converted 16 offensive boards into a 21-6 advantage in second chance scoring.
• SUNY Potsdam committed two more turnovers (15-13) but was more opportunistic outscoring the Bears 24-16 in points off turnovers.
• Potsdam shot 56 percent in the second half to maintain their lead and outshot SJC 48 percent (28-59) to 35 percent (23-66) for the contest.

The Bear Facts

• The last time the Bears failed to have a player reach double-digit scoring was a December 8, 2010 loss to Lehman where two Bears also scored nine points to lead the offense.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Bears will look to secure the first victory for its young squad on Tuesday, November 22 facing borough rivals Brooklyn College in a non-conference road game starting at 6 p.m.