Southern Vermont Too Strong For Bears

(BROOKLYN, NY)  Three Southern Vermont players posted double-double performances in a 82-61 victory over the Bears in the opening match of the "Holiday Hoops" Doubleheader on Saturday evening at Brooklyn Technical High School.  Senior Ervin Maddox (Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) led St. Joseph's with 16 points and was the only Bear to register in double figures.

Southern Vermont utilized their size and quickness to take the lead from the outset, a lead the Mountaineers would never relinquish.  The Bears got off to a slow start and the Mountaineers beat them to several rebounds and loose balls, grabbing five offensive rebounds in the first 4:30 which prompted Coach Joseph Cocozello to turn to his bench bringing in veteran Luke Klimaszewski (Queens, NY / St. John's Prep).  Klimaszewski provided a spark to the offense scoring a quick 6 points, his only points of the game, but was plagued by two quick fouls that forced him back to the bench.  The Bears offense soon found its rhythm and began to trade baskets with the Mountaineers, keeping the deficit around 5 points.  After a trifecta from Maddox with 5:42 cut the lead to 2, Southern Vermont responded with back-to-back triples to push the lead back up to 8, prompting a Cocozello timeout.  St. Joseph's fought back and a layup from Roy Wickstrom(Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) just before the half had the Bears finding themselves entering the locker rooms only down 4, 34-30.

The Mountaineers opened with a 14-0 run in the first three minutes with three 3-pointers in their first 4 possessions quickly extending their lead to 18 and seemingly putting the game out of reach.  The Bears would bring the lead back to single-digits on a triple from Mike Dziewit(Brooklyn, NY / Wadleigh), but had little answers for the Mountaineer starting five, four of whom scored at least 15 points.  Southern Vermont extended their lead to as many as 24 before closing out the 82-61 victory.

Maddox dished out three assists and grabbed a duo of rebounds and steals in addition to his 16 points.  Bears' leading scorer Justin Gist (Brooklyn, NY / Newsome) added 9 points, all coming in the second half, and had two steals.  Freshman Antoine Forehand (New York, NY / Rice) had 8 points, four rebounds and three assists.  Southern Vermont was led by Brendan Kordana who netted 22 on 6 for 10 shooting behind the arc.  Deandre Kennedy-Ebron (16 points, 11 rebounds), Lance Spratling (15 points, 13 rebounds) and Joe Karnik (15 points, 12 rebounds) all had double-doubles.

The loss drops St. Joseph's to 2-5 and Southern Vermont improves to 3-4.  The Bears return to action for a special game against Medgar Evers on Monday, December 22 which will be played at the Izod Center (East Rutherford, NJ) prior to the New Jersey Nets / Houston Rockets game.  Tip off is scheduled at 3:00 PM.