Men’s Basketball Upends CCNY Behind Four in Double-Figures

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team (4-1) defeated the City College of New York (0-6) at The Hill Center on Saturday afternoon for their fourth-straight victory. Their 80-65 victory was propelled by four Bears in double-figures including a game-high 22 points from senior forward Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep).

How It Happened
The opening 10 minutes were low-scoring and saw the Beavers leading 14-9 at 12:37 after a mid-range jumper from Daniel Piszczatowski. SJC stayed in it, however, as junior Frank Reali (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) drained a contested three-pointer that put the hosts ahead 17-16 with 9:56 to go in the half.

Reali's trey came towards the beginning of 16 unanswered points for the Bears that gave them a healthy, 28-16, advantage after rookie Chris Edwards (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) sunk a free-throw. The double-digit lead stuck as the Bears held CCNY to 38 percent shooting and forced 12 Beaver turnovers in the period for a 43-31 halftime edge.

City College didn't quit in the second, clawing back within nine twice before the 12-minute mark, as their comeback culminated with five-straight points from Yassine Sakhi followed by another Piszczatowski jumper bringing the score to 57-52 with 8:54 to play. The Bears responded with eight unanswered (four each from Etheart and Edwards) to regain their double-digit lead (65-52).

St. Joseph's didn't look back, extending the edge to as much as 16 as they cruised to their third win against CCNY in their last four meetings. Edwards poured in eight of his 10 points in the second while Etheart notched 12 in the period to close out the victory.

Post-Game Interview

For the Bears

• Etheart shot 9-18 from the floor en route to his 22 points (seven rebounds).
• Senior captain Dimitri Sirakis (Oakland Gardens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) dropped 16 points on 7-14 shooting.
• Both Reali (five steals) and Edwards (six rebounds) had 10 points in the win.
• Sebastien Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) handed out a season-high 10 assists to go along with seven boards and five points.
• Big man Kavan Meiner (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) contributed seven points and 11 caroms.

Up Next
The Bears conclude their four-game homestand with their Skyline opener against Yeshiva University on Tuesday (Dec. 3) at The Hill Center. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com/live.