Etheart Breaks Single-Game Rebound Record as Maritime Sails Past Men’s Basketball

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Junior Sebastien Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) pulled down 23 rebounds to set a new Bears record but the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team (1-7, 1-4 Skyline) couldn't withstand strong second half by Maritime College (2-6, 1-2) suffering an 83-65 Skyline Conference setback on Tuesday evening at The Hill Center.

Sebastien and brother Stephane Etheart both finished with double-doubles in defeat, scoring 18 points each to lead four Bears in scoring in double digits.

How It Happened

After three early ties and the visitors taking two brief leads, three triples from Frank Reali (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) over a four-minute span powered a 13-5 spurt that put the Bears up 23-17 at the midway point of the half, their largest lead in the contest.

SJC held the lead for 12 minutes of the opening half and with the Bears still holding a five-point lead with six minutes before the break, Maritime scored nine straight to start a 14-9 run to close out the half to take a 38-34 lead into the lockers.

The Privateers extended their lead to as many as 11 in the first five minutes, 49-38, but the Bears responded with a 13-0 run powered by the Etheart twins combining for 11 points to put the Bears back ahead, 51-49 at the 12:44 mark.

But playing their fourth game in six days and on the tail end of a back-to-back, the Bears started to fade and a six-minute field goal drought allowed the Privateers go on a 17-1 run to build a double-digit lead where it remained for the rest of the game.

For the Bears

• Sebastien Etheart recorded his third double-double of the season with a team-high-tying 18 points. His 23 rebounds broke the previous record of 22 pulled down by Aaron Parra two seasons ago, also against Maritime.
• Scoring 18 points to share team-high honors with his brother, Stephane Etheart extended his double-digit scoring streak to 20 games and pulled down 10 caroms for his first double-double of the season.
• Frank Reali netted his sixth straight game in double figures finishing with 10 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
• Dmitri Sirakis (Hollis, N.Y./St Francis Prep) also scored 10 points, with a trio of rebounds and assists.

Next Up for the Bears

St. Joseph's has a day off before heading to Bronxville on Thursday (Dec. 6) to take on Sarah Lawrence College (4-4, 3-2) in the first game of a Skyline doubleheader starting at 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.