Reno's 21 Not Enough for Men's Basketball at Centenary Tournament Opener Against William Paterson

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. — The St. Joseph's University, NY (Brooklyn) men's basketball team was back in action, following a 16-team layoff, on Wednesday evening at the Centenary University Tournament. Rookie Jonathan Reno (Staten Island, N.Y./Moore Catholic) led the way for the Bears with 21 points. However, they were on the losing side of a 74-61 result to William Paterson University in the semifinal game.

How it Happened

A back-and-forth first half saw seven ties and 10 lead changes with neither side leading by more than two possessions. The Bears (2-9) took their first lead on a Reno driving layup three minutes into the contest. His 11 points in the period along with Chris Williams' (Trenton, N.J./Nottingham) eight, as well as a combined 13 boards from Joe Sheehan (Staten Island, N.Y./Gaynor McCown) and Adam Jasaraj (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner), kept SJBK in the contest. They entered the halftime break trailing by four, 41-37.

After the Pioneers (6-5) banked the first bucket of the second half, the Bears closed their deficit to one, 43-42, on a Reno triple and Evan Sirakis (Hollis Hills, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) jumper. William Paterson began pulling away, leading by as many as 15 with 3:04 remaining in the half. The Pioneers ultimately booked their place in the Centenary Tournament championship as they secured a 13-point win.

For the Bears

• Along with his game-high 21 points, Reno finished with five assists.
• Williams had 12 points, shooting 4-of-6 from the field.
• Sirakis had nine points on the day.
• Three Bears finished with double-digit rebounds – Jasaraj (12), Sheehan, and Anderson Beltre (East Elmhurst, N.Y./Holy Cross) (10 each).

Up Next

Tournament hosts Centenary, who dropped a high-scoring contest to Hunter College 126-118, will take on the Bears in the consolation game on Thursday, December 29 at noon. Live stats and video will be available on sjbkathletics.com/live.