Last-Second Bucket Sees Men’s Basketball Edged by SJC Long Island

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — After leading for much of the second half behind a game- and career-high 21 points from Evan Sirakis (Hollis Hills, N.Y./St. Francis Prep), 11 points from Anderson Beltre (East Elmhurst, N.Y./Holy Cross), and Chris Mikos' (Freehold, N.J./St. John Vianney) near triple-double of 14 rebounds, 11 assists, and nine points – the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team fell victim to a St. Joseph's College (Long Island) game-winning basket in the final second of the contest, 71-70, on Saturday afternoon at The Hill Center.

How it Happened

The Golden Eagles (12-7, 8-4 Skyline) got into a rhythm early as they led 20-8 after the opening 10 minutes of action; growing to as many as 15, 30-15, with 6:16 left to play in the period. Sirakis and James Mojica (South Ozone Park, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) banked four triples in the final 5:24 of the half to see the Bears' (3-17, 2-10 Skyline) deficit reduced to 36-31 at the break.

A Joseph Ghotra (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Hyde Park Memorial) trey closed the gap to two, 36-34, to start the second half. His drive to the cup at 16:31 tied the game at 40-all before his free throw 20 seconds later gave Brooklyn their first lead of the game. The Bears built a seven-point advantage before the Golden Eagles brought it down to one on a couple of occasions, tying it at 53 with 8:57 left.

The Bears got back in front moments later from the stripe, restoring their seven-point lead. A pair of baseball passes from Sirakis to Mikos and Richie Simon (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) kept the Brooklyn lead at six, 69-63, with less than a minute to play.

After Sirakis made it 70-66 from the line with 24 seconds, Long Island quickly went the length of the floor, closing the narrow gap to one on a Ryan McNeely three-ball. McNeely forced a Bears turnover on the insuring Brooklyn possession, leading to Kevin O'Halloran's contest-clinching jumper with 0.2 left on the clock, 71-70.

For the Bears

• Sirakis shot 7-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. He also finished with two rebounds and as many assists.

• Beltre's 11 points and seven boards are both season-highs. The Queens native shot 5-of-8 on the afternoon.

• Mikos' recorded his 11th double-double as his 11 game-leading dimes were a season-best. He forced three steals and blocked a shot.

• Simon finished with nine points and four caroms. 

• Ghotra and Mojica each finished with six points. Ghotra pulled two rebounds while Mojica dished out a pair of assists.

• Joe Sheehan (Staten Island, N.Y./Gaynor McCown) collected six boards to go with four points.

Up Next

The Bears step away from Skyline play on Monday, February 6 when they travel to Hunter College. Tipoff from the Upper East Side is scheduled for 7 pm with live stats available on sjcbears.com/live.