Archer Records First Career Double-Double But SJC Long Island Soars Past Men's Basketball Without Megafu

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Senior Jamir Archer (Staten Island, N.Y./CSI/McCown) recorded his first career double-double with a team-high 20 points and 13 rebounds, but 15 three-pointers led sibling rivals St. Joseph's College (Long Island) to a comfortable 89-61 victory over the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team at the Hill Center on Thursday night in a Skyline Conference faceoff.

The Basics

• Final Score: SJC Long Island 89, SJC Brooklyn 61
• Records: SJC Long Island (4-8, 3-4 Skyline), SJC Brooklyn (6-6, 4-5 Skyline)
• Date: January 7, 2016
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Arena: The Hill Center
• Starters:
  • SJC Brooklyn: Murray (G), O'Neill (G), Willis (G), Salomons (F), Archer (F)
  • SJC Long Island: Laurent (G), Cohen (G), Vazquez (F), Moore (F), Spann (F)

Turning Point

• Leading 21-20 at the 10:12 mark of the first half, the Golden Eagles tallied 10 straight to amass their first double-digit advantage. They didn't look back, leading by as many as 30 and never trailing.

How it Happened

• Christian Giles' triple brought the Bears to within one, 21-20, midway through the first half, but the Golden Eagles responded by running off 10 straight to claim their first double-digit advantage.
• Fernando Vazquez's three-pointer at the 1:24 mark closed scoring in the first stanza and capped a 24-8 run for Long Island, who entered the break holding a comfortable 45-28 advantage.
• Michael Murray opened the second with consecutive field goals to cut into the deficit, but the Golden Eagles countered with seven unanswered to build a commanding 52-32 lead at the 15:55 mark.
• After trading baskets for the next 10 minutes, Justin Manon's triple with 6:30 remaining capped the Bears' own 7-0 run while lessening the deficit to 71-56. But Long Island answered once again, dominating play 18-5 the rest of the way.

For the Bears

• Senior Jamir Archer secured his first double-double of his career with 20 points—one shy of his career high—and 13 rebounds, both team highs.
• Senior Michael Murray netted 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field.
• Junior Justin Manon tallied 10 points coming off the bench, draining 2-of-5 from deep.
• Junior Christian Giles contributed seven off the bench, adding three boards and a team-best three helpers.

For the Golden Eagles

• Andy Laurent led all scorers with 28 points, shooting an efficient 10-of-15 from the field and 4-of-6 from downtown. The guard also corralled a game-high 17 rebounds and dished five assists in a stellar all-around effort.
• Fernando Vazquez buried a game-best five three-pointers en route to a 17-point night. The forward also brought down five boards and compiled three helpers.
• Isaiah Moore shot seven-of-nine from the field for 16 points, while Dominique Spann chipped in 12 to round out four in double figures for Long Island.

Inside the Box Score

• The Golden Eagles held a significant advantage from the field, shooting 53.2% (33-of-62) against 37.1% (23-of-62) for the Bears.
• Long Island connected on more than half of their attempts from downtown (15-of-29), while holding Brooklyn to just 22.7% (5-of-22).
• The Golden Eagles led the entire way, winning the turnover battle 18-13 while compiling more rebounds (45-28) and assists (19-13).
• The league leader in turnover margin, the 18 miscues were the most by the Bears this season.

The Bear Facts

• The Bears were without second-leading scorer Michael Megafu who didn't play due to an injury suffered in the Purchase game on Monday.
• Brooklyn falls to 3-6 in the all-time series while succumbing to a season sweep at the hands of their sibling rivals.
• With the loss, the Bears fall below .500 in league play at 4-5, but remain sixth in the standings.

Next up for the Bears

The Bears will wrap up a busy three-game week in Skyline play welcoming former HVIAC rivals Sarah Lawrence College to The Hill Center on Saturday, January 9th at 2 p.m. When the teams met last month in Bronxville, the Bears cruised to a 93-64 victory. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. tipoff with live stats and video on SJCBears.com.