Yeshiva Thwarts Men’s Basketball in Skyline Opener

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team (4-2, 0-1) hosted Yeshiva University (7-1, 3-0) on Tuesday night at The Hill Center in their 2019-20 Skyline opener and fell 85-51 to the preseason South Division favorite.

How It Happened
The first five minutes of action were the closest of the night as the Bears fell down 10-3 early but clawed back within two (12-10) on a Kavan Meiner (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) bucket at 14:54. However, the Macs asserted themselves immediately with 11 unanswered points bringing the score to 23-10 just three minutes later.

Frank Reali (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner), the Bears' leading scorer on the night, brought his squad back inside single digits (25-17) on a deep ball with just over seven minutes on the clock. Yeshiva responded yet again going on a 9-2 spurt after SJC showed signs of a comeback taking a 34-19 lead at 4:45 as they went on to lead 46-29 at the break behind 58.1 percent shooting in the period.

Simcha Halpert nailed a triple four minutes into the second that put YU up by 20 for the first time all night and they didn't look back from there. Then, with the score at 62-41 in the Macs favor, they reeled off 12-straight points for a commanding 74-41 edge that essentially sealed the victory.

Post-Game Interview

For the Bears

• Reali came off the bench and finished with a team-high 13 points on 5-7 shooting and 3-5 from beyond the arc.
• Senior Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) had seven points with a team-high tying six boards and topped the Bears with four steals (three assists).
• Sebastien Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) tied with his brother Stephane for the team-best in assists dishing out three (six points, four rebounds).

Next Up
A week off before a return to the road with a non-conference bout against New Paltz on Tuesday (Dec. 10) tipping off at 5 p.m. Links to live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com/live.