St. Joseph's Brooklyn Takes East-West Showdown As Men Capture 80-77 Win

Brooklyn Tech gym in Fort Greene was jammed Saturday night for the annual East-West men’s basketball matchup between sister schools St. Joseph’s Brooklyn and St. Joseph’s Long Island. With sophomore forward Michael Megafu leading the way with 27 points and 10 rebounds, the hometown Bears pasted an 80-77 win on their cross-island rivals.

Now in its sixth year, the East-West series pits St. Joseph’s Brooklyn against the school’s Patchogue campus in women’s swimming and men’s and women’ basketball. The Lady Bears captured wins earlier in the day, leaving it was up to Bears basketball to complete the hometown sweep.

With 400 plus fans crammed into the bleachers, and an intensity on the court that any devoted hoops fan would love, players from both squads—none of whom have scholarships or professional prospects—scrapped for every ball while shooting threes from all over the court.

“Obviously tonight was incredible with everybody here,” said Brooklyn Head Coach Joseph Cocozello. Asked about the significance of beating their sister school Cocozello replied, “they [his players] are aware of the facilities that Patchogue has in comparison to ours. On the whole they [L.I.] have the richer, more storied program.”

I think our guys have a feeling of inferiority,” added Cocozello “so to beat them two years in a row, I’m sure they take a lot of pride in that.”

Because they play in different conferences, sibling rivalry is clearly a motivating factor. Brooklyn lacks Long Island’s facilities and success—though the balance is tipping. The Bears won last year for the first time in series history and a new athletic facility on Vanderbilt Avenue is scheduled to open in early 2014.

“Definitely, this is [about] our pride,” said Megafu, who also powered the Bears last year when they traveled to Patchogue and beat the Golden Eagles 90-87 in double overtime. “We feel we are the better St. Joseph’s College, and we proved it on the court today.”

Eager to get a fast start, the Bears opened the game with a 7-0 run, and with sophomore guard Matt O’Neill hitting for 12 early points, Brooklyn sprinted to a double-digit lead.

Behind 30-19 midway through the half, the Golden Eagles rallied behind the play of starters Darryl Charles and Jordon Kowalski as well as freshman Andy Laurent, who came off the bench to lead all halftime scorers with 14 points.

After a 15-7 run by St. Joe’s Long Island narrowed the Brooklyn lead to three points, O’Neill—who his coach admitted “wears his heart on his sleeve”—was whistled for a technical foul.

With O’Neill riding the bench, the Golden Eagles completed their comeback. Kowalski hit a three to tie the game at 37-all, then Eddie Wenzel connected on a buzzer beater to give Long Island a 40-37 lead at the half.

After intermission, the Golden Eagles picked up where they left off, as a 7-0 spurt put the visitors up by 10 two minutes into the second half.

Now it was the Bears’ turn to rally. A three by O’Neill cut the lead to seven, and consecutive drives by Megafu and junior guard Vernon Maddox made it 47-44 Long Island. A David Louison put-back cut the lead to one, but the Golden Eagles’ Charles converted a layup while drawing a foul from Louison. The natural three-point play put Long Island up by 4.

The Bears simply could not contain Charles, a 6-5 junior forward who sliced through Brooklyn’s defense for 21 second-half points as part of his game high 30.

But the Bears had their answer in Megafu. The 6-2 guard delivered nine straight points to give Brooklyn a 63-58 lead.

A bucket by the Bear’s Ian Duff made the score 65-58, but again the Golden Eagles came back.

Five consecutive points by Charles followed by a Phil Calixte layup knotted the game at 65 with less than six minutes remaining.

As the seconds ticked down, the points kept coming. David Oritiz of Brooklyn hit a three from the left corner to put Brooklyn up by 70-67, but Long Island’s Charles hit two free throws to make it a one-point game.

After Megafu hit one of two from the line, two more Charles’ free throws tied it at 71.

Both Brooklyn’s O’Neill and Long Island’s Cory Lohsen missed free throws, but Lohsen redeemed himself with a three that put the Golden Eagles up 74-71. A Louison layup cut the Long Island lead to one, and after a Calixte miss, Megafu came up with the play of the game.

With less than two minutes to play, Megafu hit a three from the left corner to put his team up 76-74; the Bears would never trail again. After the Golden Eagles tied the game on yet another Charles layup, Maddox, the smallest player in the gym, hit two free throws to give Brooklyn a lead they would not relinquish.

After a Brooklyn turnover, the Eagles had a golden opportunity to retake the lead, but a three-point try by Laurent fell short and Louison snared his ninth rebound.

Brooklyn’s Cocozello took a time out, and on the ensuing play Francisco Escobedo calmly canned two foul shots to put the Bears up 80-77 with 20.1 seconds left.

After a Long Island timeout, the Golden Eagles set up for a three-point basket to tie. But the Bears defensive pressure left the visitors no where to go, and after a mad scramble, a long attempt by Laurent bounced harmlessly off the rim, allowing Brooklyn to escape with the win and annual bragging rights on both St. Joseph’s campuses.

NOTES: St. Joe’s Brooklyn women’s basketball team captured a 54-40 win over St. Joe’s Long Island, and the Lady Bears swim squad won 52-43 to defeat their rivals from Patchogue for the first time ever.