Men's Basketball Dealt Narrow Defeat by Old Westbury

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Chris Mikos (Freehold, N.J./St. John Vianney) and Evan Sirakis (Hollis Hills, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) combined to score 42 points on 17-of-31 shooting. However, their efforts weren't enough to lift the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team past the SUNY College at Old Westbury; falling 81-78 on Saturday afternoon at The Hill Center.

How it Happened

After the Panthers (9-11, 5-8 Skyline) opened the scoring with a three-pointer, James Mojica (South Ozone Park, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) responded with a triple of his own, beginning a 9-0 run for the Bears (3-20, 2-12 Skyline). A pair of Panther threes saw the game knotted at 11 before taking the lead from SJC at the 11:47 mark, 14-13. Old Westbury would lead by no more than six over the next eight minutes and change. Joe Sheehan's (Staten Island, N.Y./Gaynor McCown) hook shot at 3:26 tied the game at 32 and Mikos' layup in transition gave the navy and gray a two-point edge. Free throws for both sides in the final minute-plus of the first half led to a 38-all tie at the break

12 of the Panthers' first 14 points of the second period came from beyond the arc, leading by as many as eight after the first 4:30 of the stanza, 52-44. Sirakis and Mikos then combined to drop nine of the next 13 points, briefly tying the game at 56 before a trey gave the visitors a three-point advantage.

Anderson Beltre (East Elmhurst, N.Y./Holy Cross) found his way to the basket to give SJC a 65-64 lead at the 7:22 mark. Despite the Bears surrendering the lead moments later, they kept within touching distance; closing the gap to three on a Chris Williams (Trenton, N.J./Nottingham) three-ball with 63 seconds left on the clock. SJC was unable to level the game in the final minute, settling for the 81-78 loss.

For the Bears

• Mikos went 10-of-16 from the field, notching 27 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. 

• Sirakis turned in 15 points and four assists

• Beltre came away with nine points and as many boards while adding five assists.

• Mojica matched Beltre's point output, collecting four caroms and totaling a pair of distributions

• Sheehan logged eight points, five boards, and three assists.

• Williams' six points came from beyond the arc.

• SJC finished with a better field-goal percentage than the Panthers (48.4-41.2) 

Up Next

The Bears welcome Farmingdale State College on Tuesday, February 15 in the second game of a Senior Day doubleheader. The women tip-off at 5 pm followed by the men at 7 p.m. Live stats and videos of both games are available on sjcbears.com/live.