Men’s Basketball Wraps Up Road Trip with Win at SJC Long Island

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. — In their final game of six-straight away from The Hill Center, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team downed sibling rival SJC Long Island, 73-68, at the Danzi Center on Tuesday night. The win snapped a six-game skid for the Bears (5-7, 1-2 Skyline) and was also their first conference victory of the season.

Six Bears scored at least nine points including a career-high 10 from junior Nick Reali (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) as SJCBK picked up their fifth-straight triumph over the Golden Eagles (5-7, 0-4 Skyline).

How It Happened
Sophomore Chris Mikos (Freehold, N.J./Saint John Vianney) finished a second-chance layup for an 8-4 Bears edge five minutes into the contest. Brooklyn's lead swelled to as much as nine, but a low-scoring opening frame saw Michael Darby bring the hosts within two (14-12) halfway through the first.

The Golden Eagles tied the score on their next possession and later took a 19-18 advantage on a Doug Niblock jumper at the 7:31 mark. Three minutes later, five-straight points from Christian Pace put Long Island ahead 33-29 and they went on to lead 38-34 at halftime.

Back-and-forth play continued as the second half commenced, but with 12:38 on the clock junior Frank Reali (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) buried a triple and converted a layup on the next possession to give Brooklyn a 53-49 bump. Neither side showed signs of letting up as there were nine lead changes and three ties over the next 8:30 until Darby drained a long-ball for a 68-64 SJCLI lead (3:27 remaining).

However, the Bears closed the game with nine unanswered points, four of those from Frank Reali, to stun the home crowd with a late comeback victory.

For the Bears

• Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) poured in a team-high 15 points along with seven boards and three steals.
• Frank finished with 11 points while his brother Nick reached his career-high 10 on just five shots (3-5 FG, 1-3 3FG, 3-3 FT).
• Mikos, Sebastien Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep), and Dimitri Sirakis (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) all contributed nine points to the victory.
• Senior forward Kavan Meiner (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds as well as four points, three blocks, and two steals.

Next Up
A long-awaited return to the friendly confines of The Hill Center hosting Skyline foe Mount Saint Vincent this Thursday (Jan. 16) tipping off at 7 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com/live.