Bears Finish Road Trip with Loss to Westfield State
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Westfield St. (4-7) | 36 | 45 | 81 |
|
St. Joseph's (Bklyn) (2-9) | 27 | 20 | 47 |
MIDDLETOWN, CT – Playing in the consolation game of the Wesleyan University Red and Black Classic Tournament, the St. Joseph's College men's basketball team fell at the hands of Westfield State 81-47. Sophomore Ismael Dabo (Bloomfield, NJ/St. John's Prep) recorded his third double-double of the season, finishing with ten points and ten rebounds and senior Donald Coleman (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth) was named to the All-Tournament Team.
For the second straight game the Bears dug themselves an early hole, as the Owls jumped ahead 8-0 and led by as much as 16 with just over four minutes to play in the first half. St. Joseph's showed some fight however, and closed the period on an 11-4 run to head to the lockers down only nine. Coleman led the charge with six points during the stretch.
The Bears came out of the break with that same intensity and cut the Owls lead to six at 39-33. That was as close as they came though as Westfield State used an efficient, balanced attack to put St. Joseph's away. The Owls shot 53% from the floor and eight players hit a field goal during the 45 point second half. A layup by Dabo brought St. Joseph's to within 12 with just under ten minutes to play, but the Owls finished the game outscoring the Bears 28-6 to secure the victory.
St. Joseph's failed to help themselves in the free throw and rebounding departments, as they connected on only 16 of 30 shots from the line and were out rebounded 44 to 33.
Coleman led the Bears with 17 points and also added nine rebounds. Dabo was the only other Bear with ten or more points and his ten rebounds were the most for either team.
Westfield State finished with three players in double figures, led by Matt Devine's game high 18. Jesse Benoit finished with 17 and Marcellus Lee came off the bench to give the Owls 15 points.
The Bears will look to right the ship as they head home for their first game in 2011 to take on Brooklyn College on Monday, January 3rd. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 at Brooklyn Technical High School.