Three Bears Notch 20+ but Men’s Basketball Drops High-Scorer to New England

BIDDEFORD, Maine — In their 2017-18 season opener on Friday at the Hampton Inn Tip-Off Tournament, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team lost an offensive showcase to the host University of New England 122-102. Sophomores Kavan Meiner (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner), Dimitri Sirakis (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep), and Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) all surpassed 20 points in the loss.

The Basics

• Final Score: New England 122, St. Joseph's 102
• Records: New England (1-1), St. Joseph's (0-1)
• Location: Biddeford, Maine — Harold Alfond Forum
• SJC Starters: Etheart (G), Willis (G), Sirakis (G), Etheart (F), Meiner (F)

Turning Point

• The first 10 minutes of the game were back-and-forth with SJC trailing 18-17 and 11:30 on the clock. New England would take control after that as their next four makes were from deep.

How It Happened

• SJC cut the Nor'Easters double-digit lead to four with seven minutes to go in the first on a Sirakis trey. UNE would rattle off six-straight three-point makes to regain their double-digit advantage and they would go into halftime leading 59-43.
• The Bears competed in the second half, with Sirakis scoring 17 of his team-high 23 in the latter period.
• St. Joseph's outrebounded the hosts 33-29 in the second, but New England's +12 advantage in three-pointers made in the frame proved to be the difference on their way to a 20-point victory.

For the Bears

• Meiner (22 pts, 8 reb, 2 blk), Sirakis (23 pts, 8 reb, 3 stl), and Etheart (21-point, 12-rebound double-double) combined for 66 points on the night.
• Sebastien Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) tied the team-high in rebounds with 12, and also dished out four assists to go with his eight points.
• Matt McQuillen (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) scored seven points on perfect shooting off the bench, on top of four assists and three boards.

Inside the Box Score

• Despite being outscored by double-digits, the Bears shot a more efficient 45.8% from the field than New England's 38.7%.
• Additionally, SJC outrebounded the Nor'Easters by a wide margin: 64-51.

The Bear Facts

• The three sophomore scoring leaders all hit 20 points for the first time in their respective careers.
• St. Joseph's hasn't lost while scoring 100+ points since 2015-16 in a 105-101 overtime defeat to Farmingdale State (Dec. 10).

Next Up for the Bears

• The second day of the Hampton Inn Tip-Off Tournament, featuring a matchup versus Colby-Sawyer College tomorrow at 1 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.