Sirakis Hits 1,000-Point Milestone for Men’s Basketball on Senior Day vs. Old Westbury

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Senior captain Dimitri Sirakis (Oakland Gardens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) reached 1,000 career points on a free-throw in the second half as the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team hosted SUNY College at Old Westbury (15-10, 11-5 Skyline) for Senior Day at The Hill Center on Saturday.

The Bears (8-17, 4-12 Skyline) fell 66-51 to the South Division second-place Panthers honoring seniors Sirakis, Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep), Sebastien Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep), Kavan Meiner (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner), Matt McQuillen (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's), and Jimmy Cocozello (Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis) pregame.

Game Program with Senior Reflections

How It Happened
SJC took an early 7-3 lead after Cocozello found McQuillen for a layup and then brought down an offensive rebound and scored himself. The Panthers fought back and went ahead 11-9, but Steph Etheart hit a jumper to tie things back up almost halfway through the first.

However, OW responded by rattling off 11 unanswered points that were bookended by finishes from Panther big-man Pierrce Perry. This put them up 22-11 with just over six minutes before half and they went into the lockers leading 35-19 behind 10 points in the frame from senior guard Justin Alleyne-Washington.

The Bears battled in the second half and cut what was a 22-point game to 12 on a Sirakis corner three as he drew closer to 1,000 for his career. Old Westbury ultimately pulled away, but Sirakis went on to draw two free-throws with 1:16 remaining and drained both to become the second player in program history to score 1,000 points all as a member of the Skyline Conference.

Post-Game Interviews

For the Bears

• Sirakis added a board and an assist to his team-high 14 in 28 minutes.
• Steph Etheart nearly missed a double-double in his final game going for eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
• Meiner finished with eight points as well while Cocozello contributed four points on perfect 2-2 shooting with five boards (three offensive), an assist, and a steal in his first career start.