Hot Start for Men's Basketball Not Enough Against Defending Champion Yeshiva

NEW YORK, N.Y. — A pair of 20-point efforts from Frank Reali (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) and Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) and an early 14-point lead wasn't enough for the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team (0-4, 0-2 Skyline) to upend defending champions and preseason favorites, Yeshiva University (1-4, 1-1 Skyline), falling 124-91 in a Skyline road game on Tuesday evening.

How It Happened

Coming off of an exhibition loss to a tough Division I opponent Columbia on Sunday, the Bears were aggressive from the outset, attacking the basket and getting to the line to make 11-of-14 free throws in the first half. At the 16th minute mark in the first half, SJC would assemble a 14-6 run over three minutes, sparked by four straight three-point field goals, three coming from sophomore Reali.

The Bears would build as large as a 14-point lead, 32-18, on an Etheart three-point play at the midway point of the half, but the Maccabees battled back to take a halftime 60-51 lead, outscoring the Bears 13-2 over the final three minutes, and Ryan Turell's leading all scorers with 18 at the intermission.

After connecting on over 50 percent of their shots in the first half and seven triples, the navy and gray couldn't find their offensive footing in the second half. Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) had a strong 10-point spurt in the first 10 minutes of the period but Yeshiva's efficient shooting of 68 percent from the field and the Bears unable to connect on all 12 of their attempts from behind the arc allowed the hosts to expand their lead until the final buzzer.

Turell would lead three Maccabees scoring 20-plus points with ending up with a game-high 29 points.

For the Bears

• Reali led the Bears with a career-high 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting, adding four rebounds
• Stephane Etheart finished with 20 points in just 15 minutes of action.
• Kavan Meiner (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) had 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half.
• Matt McQuillen (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) added 11 points, dishing out a career-high seven assists with four rebounds.

Next Up for the Bears

The Bears continue a stretch of four games in seven days this Thursday (Nov. 29), traveling to Riverdale, N.Y. to take on the College of Mount Saint Vincent (1-3, 0-0 Skyline) tipping off at 8 p.m. in the nightcap of a doubleheader with the women.. Links to live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.