Men’s Basketball Loses Heartbreaker at Home to Maritime

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — In their return to The Hill Center after two-straight road games, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team suffered a nail-biting 74-73 defeat to SUNY Maritime College on Tuesday night. A valiant Bears' comeback was thwarted with 1.2 seconds to go as the Privateers converted a game-winning and-one giving them their second victory over St. Joseph's this season.

The Basics

• Final Score: Maritime 74, St. Joseph's 73
• Records: Maritime (7-8, 4-7), St. Joseph's (7-10, 6-6)
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y. — The Hill Center
• SJC Starters: Sirakis (G), McQuillen (G), Etheart (F), Etheart (F), Meiner (F)

Turning Point

• Down by two, Maritime's star center Patrick MacDonald converted an and-one layup after an offensive rebound with 1.2 seconds to play, giving his squad the one-point win.

How It Happened

• Both sides proved evenly matched for the majority of the first half with the Bears narrowly trailing, as sophomore Dimitri Sirakis (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) buried a trey at 9:33 to narrow their deficit to 20-14.
• Sirakis continued to propel his team, finishing a layup two minutes before the intermission to give the Bears a 33-29 lead and they would go on to hold a slim 35-32 halftime advantage.
• The Privateers caught fire in the second half, reeling off a 12-0 run (8:41) to finally break the gridlock, capped off by a Michael Walker layup for a 61-52 lead. But, SJC had a 12-1 run of their own up their sleeves, bringing them all the way back to go up 72-71 (00:23).
• Sirakis split a pair of freebies with 10 seconds remaining to push the lead to 73-71, however, MacDonald and the Privateers would have the final say with his clutch finish.

For the Bears

• Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) (16 pts, 9 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl) and brother Sebastien Etheart (13 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl) filled the stat sheet on both sides of the ball.
• Sirakis finished with 16 points on 6-12 (3-8 3FG) shooting.

Inside the Box Score

• Junior forward Aaron Parra (Brooklyn, N.Y./Mnsgr. McClancy) dropped 10 of the Bears' 18 bench points as well as six rebounds, a steal, and a block.
• SJC took great care of the ball in the loss, turning it over just six times while forcing 21 mishaps.

The Bear Facts

• With the victory, Maritime evened the all-time series at five wins per side.

Next Up for the Bears

• Alumni and Family Day hosting Merchant Marine on Sunday (Jan. 21) at 2 p.m. with live stats and video at SJCBears.com.