O'Neill Ties Assists Record as Men's Basketball Defeats Yeshiva to Move Back Above .500

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BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Senior Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) dished out a Bears record-tying 12 assists and classmates Michael Megafu (Jamaica, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) and Jamir Archer (Staten Island, N.Y./CSI/McCown) netted 20 and 19 points, respectively, leading the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team to an 85-65 triumph over Yeshiva University in Skyline Conference action on Monday night. 

The Basics

• Final Score: St. Joseph's 85, Yeshiva 68
• Records:  St. Joseph's (5-4, 4-3 Skyline), Yeshiva (6-4, 4-3 Skyline),
• Date: December 14, 2015
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Arena: The Hill Center
• Starters:
  • St. Joseph's: Murray (G), O'Neill (G), Willis (G), Archer (F), Megafu (F)
  • Yeshiva: Cohen (G), Berg (F), Pienica (F), Gweta (F), Rosenberg (F)

Turning Point

• A 12-2 spurt over 4:30 built a 15-point lead for St. Joseph's with 9:02 to play and the Maccabees wouldn't get closer than nine the rest of the way. 

How it Happened

• The teams jostled early, but the Bears would begin to pull away in the first. A pair of Justin Manon triples built an 11-point SJC lead, but the Maccabees responded with a 9-1 run to pull within a possession. Yeshiva would continue to shave the Bears lead down and grabbed the lead momentarily, but the Bears regained the lead and headed into the lockers up two, 36-34.
• A blistering 60 percent shooting effort (18-30) from the hosts in the second stanza would help build a double-digit advantage midway through the period.
• Yeshiva would cut the deficit to nine, but never gathered momentum for a comeback, shooting just 39 percent (12-31) in the half and an 8-0 run capped by a Michael Megafu steal and dunk ballooned the Bears lead to it's largest at 17 with three minutes remaining.
• Megafu would score 16 of his 20 points in the second half and Jamir Archer added nine points in the frame.

For the Bears

• Michael Megafu reached the 20-point plateau for the third time this season by way of 8-for-14 shooting while grabbing a team-high-tying seven boards.
• Jamier Archer, fresh off being named to the Skyline Conference honor roll for the first time, posted 19 points on 9-for-14 shooting and also grabbed seven boards and swatted away two shots.
• Matt O'Neill recorded his first double-double of the season and fourth of his career with 14 points, 12 dimes, and seven boards.
• Junior Justin Manon provided a spark off the bench adding 12 points.
• Senior Michael Murray chipped in nine points along with career highs of six assists and four steals.

For the Maccabees

• Shelby Rosenberg led all scorers with a 25-point, 18-rebound double-double.
• Michael Berg added 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Inside the Box Score

• The Bears connected on over half of their shots for the second time this season, finishing at a 52 percent (32-62) connect rate, also sinking eight triples. The visiting Maccabees were held to just 40 percent shooting (25-62) and struggled from distance, hitting just 24 percent (4-17) of their three-point attempts.
• St. Joseph's maintained their league lead in turnover margin, forcing 20 Yeshiva turnovers, against just 12 Bears miscues and outscoring the Macs 32-15 in points off turnovers. The Bears also held a decisive 17-4 edge in fast break points.
• The Bears led for all but three minutes of the contest.

The Bear Facts

• O'Neill's 12 assists matches a record set two times previously (Ervin Maddox at Mount Aloysius - 11/15/2008 and Sean Kearney vs. Polytechnic - 11/23/02)
• It was the first meeting between the two programs. The squads will meet again on February 6, 2016 in Manhattan, wrapping up the home-and-home series.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Bears take a two-week break for finals and return to action on the road facing CCNY on Tuesday, December 29 in their final game of the calendar year. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com