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Meiner Nets Double-Double But Men’s Basketball Nipped by Gators

Freshman Kavan Meiner had career highs of 13 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double
Freshman Kavan Meiner had career highs of 13 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double

ALBANY, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team built a 10-point first-half lead, but The Sage Colleges would rally with a strong second half and dealt the Bears a 65-61 setback in Skyline Conference play on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Kavan Meiner (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) recorded his second double-double with career highs of 13 points and 13 rebounds and sophomore Aaron Parra (Brooklyn, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) led the team with 15 points.

The Basics

  • Final Score: Sage 65, St. Joseph's 61
  • Records: Sage (9-7, 5-2), St. Joseph's (4-12, 1-7), 
  • Location: Albany, N.Y.
  • Arena: Kahl Gym
  • SJC Starters: Willis (G), Giles (G), Idyahia (G), Parra (F), Meiner (F) 

Turning Point

  • St. Joseph's went without a field goal for over seven minutes in the second half and the Gators ran off a 17-2 run to take a nine-point lead with 10:06 to play and never trailed again.

How it Happened

  • The Bears took control of a low-scoring first half assembling a 16-4 run over three minutes that put them up 30-20 with 3:20 before the break. Christian Giles powered the spurt with eight points and Joseph Idyahia chipped in six points with both draining a pair of trifectas. But the Gators scored the final five points of the half to trail just 30-25 at the intermission.
  • St. Joseph's increased their lead to as many as seven on two occasions in the second stanza before the offense sputtered with a seven-minute field goal drought that allowed Sage to reverse a seven-point deficit into a nine-point lead, 55-46, at the midway point of the half.
  • The Bears pulled within four on multiple occasions in the half, but could never get to a single possession ball game and the Gators maintained their separation from the free throw line in the bonus over the last four minutes.

For the Bears

  • Freshman Kavan Meiner shot 5-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from the line to post his career-best 13 points. He also grabbed a career- and game-high-tying 13 rebounds.
  • Sophomore Aaron Parra led the Bears with 15 points and also grabbed eight caroms in 27 minutes of play before fouling out.
  • Senior Christian Giles rounded out three in double digits with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.
  • Sophomore Joseph Idyahia and freshman Dimitri Sirakis added eight points each.

Inside the Box Score

  • Sage shot 36 percent (22-62) on their home floor while the Bears mustered just 30 percent (21-70) of their attempts.
  • The Gators shot 40 percent in the second half and after missing all 11 attempts from distance in the first half, drained five three-pointers in the second stanza.
  • The Bears held a 50-48 rebounding edge and turned 19 offensive rebounds into an 18-10 edge in second-chance scoring.
  • Rob Mills led the Gators off the bench with 16 points. Thiago Conceicao added a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double and Frane Larose had 15 points.

The Bear Facts

  • The Gators level the all-time series at 2-2.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Bears return home to face Mount Saint Mary College on Wednesday, January 25. Tip-off from the Hill Center is set for 7:30 p.m. with live stats and video with Michael Kerr calling the action on SJCBears.com.