Men's Basketball Hosts Berkeley on Senior Night with HVIAC Regular Season Title on the Line

BROOKLYN, N.Y.–With the top seed at stake in a pivotal Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) clash, the No. 2 ranked St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team will faceoff with No. 1 Berkeley College on Senior Night this Thursday in the final home game of the season. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

Game Information

Opponent: Berkeley College (16-5, 5-0 HVIAC)
Date/Time: Thursday, February 12 • 7:00 p.m.
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Arena: The Hill Center • Frank P. Carbone Court
Coverage: Live stats | Video | Game Program
Play-by-Play: Sitesh Shah 

Quick Links

St. Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Statistics | Misc. Stats
Berkeley: Roster | Schedule | Statistics

Storylines

• Victors of four straight and seven of their previous eight, the Bears (16-7, 4-0 HVIAC) are closing out the 2014-15 campaign with a bang. On Thursday, No. 2 St. Joseph's (4-0) and No. 1 Berkeley (5-0) will put the top seed in the HVIAC and their unbeaten conference records at stake.
• Thursday will also mark the men's final game at The Hill Center this season. Now a perfect 9-0 in their new home, the Bears will look to christen their inaugural season in the facility with an unblemished record.
• On Sunday, David Louison and Michael Megafu combined for 43 of St. Joseph's 66 points in a triumph over CCNY. The forwards are each averaging double-doubles and are tied for fourth in the HVIAC in scoring (16.2 ppg).
• Louison also leads his team and sits second in the conference in rebounding (11.0 rpg), while Megafu leads the HVIAC with a highly efficient 61.5 shooting percentage and ranks third in the conference in boards (10.1 rpg).
• St. Joseph's has breezed through conference opponents this season, posting a dominant 34.3 average margin of victory. In their previous HVIAC faceoff, the Bears upended King's (N.Y.) 109-62 in a lopsided affair on Saturday, pouring in 17 three-pointers in a season-high offensive outburst.
• Like St. Joseph's, Berkeley is streaking towards the finish line, winning five consecutive and nine of their last ten.
• The Knights have had their way with HVIAC opponents as well, winning all five of their meetings by an average margin of 40.6 points, including a 102-38 shellacking of King's and an 86-44 triumph over Pratt Institute in their last conference game on February 5.

Series History

The two schools have met 23 times in the all-time series history, including seven times in the Hudson Valley championship game, with St. Joseph's holding a 14-9 edge. Last season, the Bears snapped a six-game losing streak in the series with a 75-57 triumph at the Barclays Center. Seven of the last nine meetings in the competitive rivalry have been decided single digits. 

Last Meeting

On December 27, 2013, playing for the first time at the Barclays Center, St. Joseph's claimed a 75-57 victory over Berkeley.

David Louison posted a season- and game-high 29 points while Michael Megafu recorded 18 points and a game-best 10 caroms. St. Joseph's never trailed in the contest. They led by as many as 16 behind Louison's 18-point first-half explosion.

The Bear Facts

Victors of four straight and seven of their previous eight, the Bears (16-7, 4-0 HVIAC) are closing out the 2014-15 campaign with a bang. On Thursday, No. 2 St. Joseph's (4-0) and No. 1 Berkeley (5-0) will put the top seed in the HVIAC and their unbeaten conference records at stake. Thursday will also mark the men's final game at The Hill Center this season. Now a perfect 9-0 in their new home, the Bears will look to christen their inaugural season in the facility with an unblemished record.

St. Joseph's has breezed through conference opponents this season, posting a dominant 34.3 average margin of victory. In their previous HVIAC faceoff, the Bears upended King's (N.Y.) 109-62 in a lopsided affair on Saturday, pouring in 17 three-pointers in a season-high offensive outburst.

Bears Probable Starters

• Alec Willis (G): The freshman has started all 23 games this season. Willis ranks second on the Bears in triples (36), third in minutes (31.9 mpg) and fifth in scoring (7.5 ppg).
• Matt O'Neill (G): St. Joseph's leading distributor (4.5 apg) is averaging 8.0 dimes in his last four games. O'Neill also sits fifth in the Division III rankings with a 3.1 steals per game average.
• Greg Beehler (G): The sharpshooter leads the Bears in three-point percentage (42.6) and is averaging 11.3 points in his last four games.
• Michael Megafu (F): Tied for fourth in the HVIAC in scoring (16.2 ppg), leads the conference with a highly efficient 61.5 shooting percentage and sits third in boards (10.1 rpg).
• David Louison (F): Tied for fourth in the conference in scoring (16.2 ppg) alongside Megafu and ranks second in rebounding (11.0 rpg). Louison is also third in the DIII rankings with a team-leading 16 double-doubles this season.

Bears Last Time Out

St. Joseph's continued their winning ways on Sunday afternoon, putting away the City College of New York (CCNY) 66-55 to improve to 16-7 and remain undefeated at the Hill Center (9-0).

The forward tandem of Michael Megafu and David Louison paced the Bears, controlling the glass all night while combining for 43 of St. Joseph's 66 points. Megafu posted game highs in points (24) and boards (18) for his twelfth double-double of the season. Louison poured in 19 and pulled down 16 rebounds, securing his sixteenth double-double of the year.

With just 2:54 remaining, five unanswered points from the Beavers made it a two-possession contest (61-55). The Bears, though, would clamp down on defense in crunch time, holding CCNY scoreless in the final 2:54 to seal their fourth in a row. St. Joseph's suffocating defense held CCNY to just 31.8 percent (21-66) from the floor on Sunday.

Bears Among the NCAA Division III Leaders

One of the most consistent DIII players in the nation, David Louison's 16 double-doubles are good for third in all of Division III. The senior is also just shy of the Top 10 in rebounding, ranking 11^th in the division with an 11.0 rebounds per game average.

Michael Megafu has hovered around 60 percent shooting all season and the efficient junior currently ranks 10^th in DIII with a 61.5 field goal percentage. Megafu has converted on 66.7 percent (16-24) of his baskets in the Bears' last two games.

Crafty guard Matt O'Neill sits fifth in Division III with a 3.1 steals per game average.

USCAA Top 10

The Bears have remained in the USCAA Division I Top 10 all season, receiving a No. 9 ranking in the latest Coaches Poll.

Berkeley enters tonight's game ranked No. 2 in the USCAA Division II poll.

The Knightly News

Like St. Joseph's, Berkeley (16-5, 5-0 HVIAC) is streaking towards the finish line, winning five consecutive and nine of their last ten. The Knights have had their way with HVIAC opponents this year, winning all five of their meetings by an average margin of 40.6 points, including a 102-38 shellacking of King's and an 86-44 triumph over Pratt Institute in their last conference game on February 5.

A high-powered Berkeley offense pours in a conference-best 85.3 points per game. Senior Kenton Chan-Man (16.4 ppg) and sophomore Massiah Merritt (16.3 ppg) lead the way, ranking second and third respectively in the HVIAC scoring ranks. Merritt (43.8%) and Chan-Man (38.7%) also sit first and second in the conference in three-point percentage.

Junior Keenan Langston (15.7 ppg) provides additional offense for the Knights and sophomore Stephon Jennings corrals a team-best 8.2 boards per game.

Berkeley Last Time Out

On Sunday, Berkeley improved to 16-5 and remained perfect in February (5-0), comfortably putting away NHTI 98-79 on the Knights' Senior Day.

Berkeley never trailed and led by as many as 27 in another dominant performance. Sophomore Alessandro DeAngelis netted a team-high 20 points and brought down a game-best 13 boards for the double-double. Senior Kenton Chan-Man added 19, going 7-of-14 from the floor and draining a pair from downtown.

Next Up for the Bears

On Saturday, February 14, St. Joseph's will travel up to Albany, N.Y. for their final regular season contest, meeting HVIAC foe Albany Pharmacy for a 3 p.m. tipoff.