Three Bears Reach Double-Figures as Men’s Basketball Squeaks by Sarah Lawrence

BRONXVILLE, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team took on Sarah Lawrence College on the road Wednesday night looking to pick up their sixth league win of the year. SJC was successful as they hung on for a 64-57 victory (second-straight win) behind 27 combined points from the Ethearts, improving to two games above .500 in Skyline play.

The Basics

• Final Score: St. Joseph's 64, Sarah Lawrence 57
• Records: St. Joseph's (7-8, 6-4), Sarah Lawrence (2-12, 1-8)
• Location: Bronxville, N.Y. — Campbell Sports Center
• SJC Starters: Sirakis (G), McQuillen (G), Etheart (F), Etheart (F), Meiner (F)

Turning Point

• An and-1 layup from Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) with a minute and a half to play put the Bears up by five to essentially clinch the victory.

How It Happened

• The game was an extremely low-scoring affair for the vast majority of the first half, as a free throw from SLC's Austin Jones tied things at 11 with 8:32 remaining before intermission.
• A trey from junior Joseph Idyahia (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) with just under a minute to go in the first capped off a 9-2 Bears run, and they would go on to hold a 31-24 halftime lead behind nine points from sophomore Dimitri Sirakis (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep).
• Etheart scored six-straight points for the Bears to open the second putting them up 37-28 (17:25). His brother, Sebastien Etheart, went on to nail a deep-ball at 13:40 to give his team their largest lead of the game (44-31).
• Sarah Lawrence immediately reeled off a 12-0 run to turn the game on its heels and cut their deficit to one (44-43) halfway through the period. The two sides were neck and neck for the rest of play, but SJC never allowed the hosts to regain the lead and St. Etheart's bucket plus the foul put the nail in the coffin.

For the Bears

• Se. Etheart matched his career-high of 14 points from last game as well as seven rebounds and three blocks.
• St. Etheart scored all of his 13 in the second half while also grabbing nine boards and swiping four steals.
• Sirakis netted 12 points (4-12 FG) and secured five rebounds, while backcourt mate Matt McQuillen (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) dropped nine with five caroms and four steals.

Inside the Box Score

• The two squads tied in rebounds with 50, as the Bears were led by forward Kavan Meiner's (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) 10 (seven points).
• For the second-straight game, Idyahia (five rebounds) poured in seven of SJC's nine bench points.

The Bear Facts

• St. Joseph's has now completed the season sweep of the Gryphons including their 75-60 December 7th victory.

Next Up for the Bears

• Another Skyline battle on the road as they travel to Old Westbury on Saturday (Jan. 13). Tip-off is set for noon with live stats available at SJCBears.com.