Willis and Etheart Combine for 46 but Purchase Defeats Men’s Basketball

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Senior captain Alec Willis (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) secured his second 20-point game in his last three with a game-high 24, but the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team fell at home on Tuesday night to Purchase. Along with Willis, sophomore wing Sebastien Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) poured in a career-high 22 points as well as 12 boards for his third-career double-double in the loss. Now, SJC drops into a tie for seventh place with Merchant Marine (one spot out of the playoffs), and they battle the Mariners in Kings Point on Thursday.

The Basics

• Final Score: Purchase 75, St. Joseph's 69
• Records: Purchase (13-6, 9-5), St. Joseph's (8-12, 7-8)
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y. — The Hill Center
• SJC Starters: Willis (G), Sirakis (G), Etheart (F), Etheart (F), Meiner (F)

Turning Point

• Purchase opened the second half on a 13-4 run capped by a Michael Soffer trey to go up by double-digits (43-30), and they didn't let the Bears within single-digits until the 2:24 mark.

How It Happened

• The Bears enjoyed early success as six points in just over a minute from Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) (13:22) had them up 16-9. However, a three a Panther three at 7:11 put them ahead by one (19-18).
• Back-and-forth play ensued, but the visitors finished strong with a 10-2 spurt in the last five minutes of the half leading them to a 30-26 advantage. At the break, Stephane led the Bears with 12 points and eight boards, while Rob Grullon's 10 paced the other side.
• Four different Panthers scored over their 13-4 run (led by Soffer's five) as they put their foot down right after intermission. The lead would eventually swell to 17 after a Grullon freebie (6:05) putting the Bears in a serious hole late in regulation.
• St. Joseph's responded with seven straight points to begin a comeback attempt, and a Willis deep-ball brought them within nine at 2:24. The hosts narrowed the gap to six with less than two minutes to go, but perfect free-throw shooting down the stretch gave Purchase their ninth league triumph.

For the Bears

• Willis added four rebounds and a steal to his game-high 24 points (5-9 FG, 3-5 3FG, 11-11 FT).
• Sebastien was active on defense as well, notching four steals (2 ast) to compliment his career-high 22 buckets (12 reb).
• Stephane also tallied a double-double finishing with 13 points and 12 caroms.

Inside the Box Score

• SJC was uncharacteristically cold from long-range, shooting 3-16 (18.8%) on the night.
• Despite the loss, the Bears took care of the ball, turning it over just 10 times while forcing 16.

The Bear Facts

• Stephane's double-double was his team-leading eighth of the year.
• The Bears have lost six straight to PC and are now 5-10 all-time against them.

Next Up for the Bears

• A road Skyline showdown at Merchant Marine on Thursday (Feb. 1) at 7 pm with live stats and video at SJCBears.com.