Meiner’s Double-Double Not Enough for Men’s Basketball in Season Opener at Manhattanville

Meiner’s Double-Double Not Enough for Men’s Basketball in Season Opener at Manhattanville

PURCHASE, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team (0-1) opened their season at day one of the A.J. Buchanan Classic on Friday night, taking on host Manhattanville College (2-0) and suffering a one-sided, 103-82, defeat.

Junior big man Kavan Meiner (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) was a bright spot for the Bears, posting a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double on 11-for-17 shooting in the opener.

How It Happened
Junior Dimitri Sirakis (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) buried a jumper three minutes into the first half to bring the Bears within two (8-6), but a quick 10-0 run for Manhattanville gave them a commanding 18-6 lead (15:25). The Valiants led by double-digits for the remainder of the period and outshot SJC 53.3%-37.8% during the opening 20 minutes for a 63-33 advantage at intermission.

The Bears found some consistency as they rattled off a 10-2 run early in the second, featuring six points from Sebastien Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep), but the hosts lead remained steady at 69-47. Four-straight points for St. Joseph's brought them back within 20 (6:56), but Manhattanville immediately stomped out any hopes of a comeback with a game-clinching 8-2 spurt as the Bears trailed by 20+ for the remainder of the contest.

For the Bears

  • Meiner notched team highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds while Sirakis chipped in 13 points (four assists) and Etheart added 14 points (seven rebounds).
  • Frank Reali (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) and Tyler Holness (Boston, Mass./Malden) each put up eight points in their SJC debuts.
  • Matt McQuillen (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) totaled seven rebounds and five assists off the bench.

Next Up for the Bears
The consolation game of the A.J. Buchanan Classic against The Sage Colleges on Sunday (Nov. 17) at 1 p.m. Links to live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.