Men’s Basketball Overcomes 21-Point Deficit to Stymie Mount Saint Vincent

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RIVERDALE, N.Y. — Sophomore Dimitri Sirakis (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) notched yet another 20-plus scoring night as the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team stormed back to top the College of Mount Saint Vincent on the road on Thursday night. Sirakis' 22 were a game-high as the Bears picked up their second Skyline victory of the new season.

The Basics

• Final Score: St. Joseph's 71, Mount Saint Vincent 66
• Records: St. Joseph's (3-3, 2-1), Mount Saint Vincent (1-3, 0-1)
• Location: Riverdale, N.Y. — Peter Jay Sharp Center
• SJC Starters: Willis (G), Sirakis (G), Etheart (F), Etheart (F), Meiner (F)

Turning Point

• Second-year Sebastien Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) buried two free-throws to bring the Bears all the way back and lead 60-59 with five minutes left in the game.

How It Happened

• SJC kept it close for the first seven minutes of play, as a Sirakis layup (13:23) made it 15-10 Dolphins. But, a speedy 14-0 Mount Saint Vincent run capped off by a Makai Johnson three-ball extended the advantage to 29-10.
• The visitors led at intermission 45-29, featuring seven points on perfect shooting from Jose Maestre. Sirakis paced St. Joseph's before the break with eight.
• Etheart sunk one of his three freebies early on in the second to bring the deficit to single digits, but CMSV maintained a ten-point lead up to the 13-minute mark.
• St. Joseph's comeback began here, as the bench duo of Aaron Parra (Brooklyn, N.Y./Mnsgr. McClancy) and Matt McQuillen (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) converted back-to-back layups to bring the score to 51-45.
• The Bears remained within single-digits for the rest of the period, and they held the hosts to six points in the final five minutes. Sirakis netted a trey at the four-minute mark to finally put SJC on top (63-60) and they didn't look back completing their second league victory.

Highlights

MBB | Highlights from the 71-66, come-from-behind road win over Mount Saint Vincent on Thursday. Bears move to 2-1 in league play. (�� c/o CMSV) #BearWitnessSJC #SJCNY #d3h #d3basketball pic.twitter.com/I0rjQ9KtYG

— St. Joseph's Bears (@SJCBears) December 1, 2017

For the Bears

• Sirakis added four assists to his game-high 22 (6-16, 4-10 3 FG).
• Sophomore Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) added his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 boards.
• Sebastien Etheart filled the box score with nine points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

Inside the Box Score

• Parra (10) and McQuillen (eight) combined for the entirety of the Bears 18 bench points.
• Efficient free throw shooting contributed to the triumph, as SJC shot 85.7% as opposed to the Dolphins' 61.9% clip from the line.

The Bear Facts

• Now sitting at two Skyline victories, the Bears have surpassed last year's single league win (also vs. Mount Saint Vincent).

Next Up for the Bears

• A one-game return to The Hill Center in the latter half of a Skyline doubleheader, battling Mount Saint Mary College on Saturday (Dec. 2) at 4 p.m. Live stats and video streaming on SJCBears.com.