Strong Second Half Lifts Men’s Basketball Over Merchant Marine

KINGS POINT, N.Y. — Hot shooting in the second half led the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team(8-13, 7-10 Skyline) to a split in the season series with the United States Merchant Marine Academy (7-12, 5-10 Skyline) after USMMA stole one from the Bears at The Hill Center less than two weeks ago.

The Bears shot 52.3% from the field for their best shooting game of the season as Sebastien Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) led them in scoring with 18 points on the game, shooting 8-of-12 from the field.

How it Happened
Following a quick three-pointer from Dimitri Sirakis (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) in the Bears' first possession of the game, USMMA went on a 13-0 run over five minutes featuring eight points from James Walsh. The Bears responded with a 12-3 spurt including a Nick Reali (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) pull up trey in transition.

St. Joseph's held steady on defense for the rest of the period, holding the Mariners to just six points during the final 11 minutes of the first. In this span ,the Bears scored 25 points and maintained a 28-24 lead at the break.

SJC reeled off an 11-3 run in the first five minutes of the second behind 5-for-6 shooting from the field sparked by a Kavan Meiner (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) jumper. The Bears found themselves up 39-27 with about 15 minutes left in regulation and refused to give up the lead, never letting the Mariners within 11 for the rest of the game. The Bears would shoot 56.5% from the field in the second half, as opposed to USMMA's 34.4% second-half shooting.

For The Bears

• Sebastien Etheart finished the game with 18 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
• Kavan Meiner played 38 minutes, chipping in 13 points along with five boards.
• Frank Reali (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) also netted 11 points with five caroms and two steals in the win.

Next Up for the Bears
A trip to the Bronx on Monday (Feb. 4) in their final non-league outing of the season, meeting Lehman College (7-12) for the first time since a December 2012. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.