Men’s Basketball Drops Rematch of Skyline Finale to Old Westbury

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. — In a rematch of last year's Skyline Conference title game, SUNY College at Old Westbury handed the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team a 79-69 setback for their first league win of the season. Freshman Dimitri Sirakis (Hollis Hills, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) led a balanced offense for the Bears with 16 points and seven rebounds.

The Basics

• Final Score: Old Westbury 79, St. Joseph's 69
• Records: Old Westbury (1-5, 1-1), St. Joseph's (1-5, 0-2)
• Location: Old Westbury, N.Y.
• Arena: Clark Athletic Center
• SJC Starters: Willis (G), Sirakis (G), Seb. Etheart (F), Parra (F), Meiner (F)

Turning Point

• With the Bears trying to keep the contest a one-possession game late, two three-pointers from Lylle Ryals gave the Panthers some separation and the hosts pulled away from the free throw line in the final minute.

How it Happened

• Old Westbury scored the first five points of the game and led by five multiple times before a 15-4 Bears run bookended by Matt McQuillen and Dimitri Sirakis trifectas put St. Joseph's up eight, 24-16, with seven minutes remaining in the half.
• The hosts regained the lead momentarily after the Bears offense stalled and allowed 11 straight Panther points, but the Bears found their composure and used an 8-1 run to take back the lead and carried a three-point advantage into the lockers, 36-33.
• St. Joseph's pushed their lead back up to eight early in the second stanza and maintained their separation trading baskets with the Old Westbury. But the Panthers surged back on top with an 18-3 outburst over seven minutes to take the lead for good, pulling ahead 63-56 with 7:55 to play.
• The Bears remained within two possessions for the remainder of the game and after Joseph Idyahia's triple cut the deficit to three, the Panthers countered with two Lylle Ryals treys that pushed the lead back up to seven, 72-65 with just under three minutes to go.
• Old Westbury held the Bears without a field goal for nearly the final two minutes of the game and pulled away at the line in the bonus.

For the Bears

• Returning to the starting lineup for the second straight game, freshman Dimitri Sirakis set season highs of 16 points with seven rebounds. He shot 6-of-12 from the field and 4-of-7 from behind the ard and handed out three assists.
• Sophomore Joseph Idyahia chipped in 13 points in a reserve role also pulled down three rebounds.
• Junior Alec Willis added 11 points and matched a career high handing out six assists.
• Freshman Kavan Meiner recorded his first collegiate double-double with 10 points and 10 caroms.
• Sophomore Aaron Parra contributed nine points with four rebounds.

Inside the Box Score

• St, Joseph's led by as many as eight in the first half. Both squads held the lead for nearly the same amount of time with the hosts on top for 20:20.
• The Bears maintained a 24-18 edge in scoring inside the paint.
• The Panthers maintained a 47-37 advantage on the boards and converted 19 on the offensive end into a 17-9 edge in second-chance scoring.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Bears will wrap up a three-game stretch of divisional action facing Yeshiva University on the road on Tuesday, December 6 starting at 8 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com.