Men’s Basketball Drops Heartbreaker as Late Rally Falls Short At Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — After trailing by seven with a minute to play, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball pulled within one on back-to-back three-pointers from Alec Willis (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea), but the Bears couldn't steal the victory from their borough rivals Brooklyn College falling 91-89 on Tuesday evening. Aaron Parra's (Brooklyn, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) 21 points led four players in double figures including two with double-double efforts.

The Basics

• Final Score: Brooklyn 91, St Joseph's 81
• Records: Brooklyn (2-2), St. Joseph's (0-3)
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Arena: BC Gymnasium
• SJC Starters: Willis (G), Giles (G), Idyahia (G), Parra (F), Meiner (F)

Turning Point

• Alec Willis' second straight trifecta pulled the Bears within one, 88-87, with 40 seconds to play after the Bears trailed by as many as nine earlier in the period. With the Bears trailing by two and possession of the ball with 12 seconds left, the Bulldogs defended well and SJC's two looks to tie or take the lead came up short.

How it Happened

• A pair of trifectas from Christian Giles and Alec Willis sandwiched around an Aaron Parra jumper gave the Bears an early 8-4 lead, their largest of the contest. But the hosts went on top and led by as many as eight before a Bears 11-3 run—capped by a Joseph Idyahia triple and Season Salomons layup—knotted the game at 44-all with 2:31 before the break and Brooklyn led by three, 49-46, at the intermission.
• St. Joseph's took the lead in the second stanza and led by four on three separate occasions before a quick 9-0 Bulldog spurt over 39 seconds gave the hosts the lead for good, moving up 66-61.
• The Bulldogs kept it a multiple-possession game and extended their lead to it's largest at nine points, 84-75, with just over two minutes remaining. BC still maintained a seven-point edge, 88-81, with 58 seconds left before Alec Willis pair of trifectas shrank the deficit to one.
• Down by two with 12 ticks and the ball, a Christian Giles layup to tie wouldn't fall and the Bears got another chance with one second left after a Bulldog turnover, but Willis' trey attempt at the buzzer to win was well defended and fell short.

For the Bears

• Aaron Parra poured in a career-high 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting to lead four in double figures. The sophomore also grabbed eight boards and swatted away three shots.
• Freshman Stephane Etheart recorded his first collegiate double-double with season highs of 16 points and a team-best 11 boards.
• Senior Christian Giles also logged his first double-double with 10 points and a career-high 11 assists.
• Junior Alec Willis drained four three-pointers en route to 16 points, also securing five caroms.
• Freshman Kavan Meiner contributed seven points while sophomore Joseph Idyahia chipped in six points and five assists.

Inside the Box Score

• The Bears 89 points and 46 percent shooting (32-69) were season highs. The Bulldogs shot 54 percent (35-65) on their home floor. Both teams were tied at 39-all in the rebounding battle.
• St. Joseph's drained 10 three-pointers, more than the first two games combined.
• Eleven different Bears recorded a field goal and contributed to the final tally.

The Bear Facts

• Brooklyn improves to 13-4 in the all-time series between the two borough foes.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Bears will return home to The Hill Center hosting another borough rival, Medgar Evers College, on Saturday, November 26 for their home opener starting at 4 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com.