Men’s Basketball Suffers Skyline Setback at Sarah Lawrence

BRONXVILLE, N.Y. — Sophomore Aaron Parra (Brooklyn, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) had a near double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds and Tyranny Pace (Salt Lake City, Utah/Summit Academy) scored a season-high 14 points off the bench, but the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team couldn't overcome an early deficit and dropped a 78-65 decision to Sarah Lawrence College in Skyline Conference action on Tuesday evening.

The Basics

• Final Score: Sarah Lawrence 78, St. Joseph's 65
• Records: Sarah Lawrence (6-13, 2-8), St. Joseph's (4-15, 1-10)
• Location: Bronxville, N.Y.
• Arena: Campbell Sports Center
• SJC Starters: Willis (G), Giles (G), Etheart (G), Parra (F), Meiner (F) 

Turning Point

• After cutting a 16-point second-half deficit in half midway through the second half, the Bears managed just one field goal over a seven-minute span as the Gryphons ballooned their lead to 23 with four minutes to play.

How it Happened

• Aaron Parra scored six straight points early in the first to give the Bears a 13-9 lead, their largest lead of the contest before the Gryphons responded with seven unanswered and extended to a 17-3 run over five minutes to lead by 12 and never trailed again.
• Gabriel Eng scored the first of his 14 points in the second stanza to extend the lead to 16 but St. Joseph's brought the deficit back to single digits with a 9-2 spurt capped by a Dimitri Sirakis trifecta.
• But St. Joseph's managed to only get as close as seven as the Gryphons pulled away with a 14-5 run and put the game out of reach. The hosts drained six three-pointers in the half and committed just one turnover to maintain their separation.

For the Bears

• Sophomore Aaron Parra fell one rebound shy of his fourth double-double with 15 points, nine rebounds, and a game-best three rejections.
• Freshman Tyranny Pace had 14 points off the bench, draining 3-of-5 from three-point land, in just 16 minutes of action.
• Christian Giles, Alec Willis, and Dimitri Sirakis added six points each.

Inside the Box Score

• The Bears won the rebounding battle, 46-39.
• St. Joseph's was plagued by committing two-and-a-half as many turnovers (19-7), which led to a 25-8 scoring edge off turnovers for the Gryphons.
• Gabriel Eng led three Gryphons in double figures with a game-high 19 points with five three-pointers, scoring 14 of his points in the second half.

The Bear Facts

• It was the first loss to Sarah Lawrence in 14 known meetings since the 2002-03 season.
• The Bears complete their schedule against the Skyline North Division winless.
• St. Joseph's has now dropped six straight, their longest slide since an eight-game skid in the 2010-11 season.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Bears return home to The Hill Center on Saturday, February 4 for headlining an Alumni and Family Day Doubleheader against South Division foe SUNY College at Old Westbury starting at 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com with Michael Kerr calling the action on the webcast.