Comeback Bid Falls Short for Men’s Basketball at Farmingdale State

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — In their return to Skyline Conference play after five-straight non-league contests, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team battled Farmingdale State College (6-6, 2-1) in what was also their fifth of six-straight games away from The Hill Center.

The Bears (4-7, 0-2) were down by as many as 13 points in the second half before mounting a comeback that fell short, 65-62. Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) led the way in the loss going for a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double.

How It Happened
St. Joseph's held a slight, 10-6, edge after a jumper from rookie Joe Sheehan (Staten Island, N.Y./Gaynor McCown) at the 13:22 mark of the first in what were low-scoring early minutes.

Soon after, the Rams mounted nine unanswered points to go ahead 22-14 (8:21) as four different players scored on the run. The visitors cut the deficit to four late in the period on a triple from senior captain Dimitri Sirakis (Oakland Gardens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep), but back-to-back FSC threes put them back up by 10 before sophomore Zach MacDonnell (Howard Beach, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) put in a last-second layup cutting the gap to 35-27 at the break.

The Bears trailed by double-digits for most of the second until a 9-0 spurt, including five points from Etheart, put them back on top (47-46) with 9:09 to go in regulation. Both teams were bucket-for-bucket for the rest of the night and with one minute on the clock SJC led 60-59 after an Etheart finish.

However, Farmingdale scored four-straight points followed by another Stephane score to bring SJC within one with 11 seconds to play. The Bears were forced to foul and De'Shawn Todman hit both free-throws while an SJC three-point attempt at the buzzer fell short, as did their comeback.

For the Bears

• Etheart's double-double was his team-leading eighth of the season while his 17 points (8-14 FG) and 12 boards were both game highs.
• Senior forward Kavan Meiner (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) added 14 points (7-9 FG) and eight rebounds.
• Sirakis (nine points, four steals) and rookie guard Chris Edwards (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) — seven points, two blocks — were the Bears' two next-highest scorers.

Next Up
The Bears play the final game of their road-trip as they continue the Skyline slate with a trip to sibling rival SJC Long Island on Tuesday (Jan. 14) with tip set for 5:30 p.m. Live stats and video links will be available at SJCBears.com/live.