Men’s Basketball Upended by Mount Saint Vincent in Final Road Game of 2019-20

BRONX, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team (8-16, 4-11) traveled to Riverdale in the Bronx to battle the College of Mount Saint Vincent (9-15, 6-9) on Tuesday night and fell 88-82 for their fourth-straight loss.

Seniors Dimitri Sirakis (Oakland Gardens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) and Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) combined for 43 points in the loss shooting 50 percent collectively.

How It Happened
This one was evenly matched as neither side broke out during neck-and-neck action in the first half. Frank Reali (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) hit a freebie five minutes in to bring the Bears within one (11-10), and a Chris Edwards (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) layup three minutes later put them up 14-13.

The Dolphins built a six-point lead with just over seven minutes left before the break, but SJC stormed back to take a 28-27 edge less than a minute later on another Reali bucket. Tightly contested play continued, however, as the hosts carried their own one-point lead (43-42) into halftime.

Half number two got off to a good start for the Bears as Chris Mikos (Freehold, N.J./Saint John Vianney) scored back-to-back baskets that brought his team up four (52-48) at 16:06. CMSV didn't falter though, as the score became tied at 56 and they proceeded to score 10 unanswered points for the first double-digit lead of the game halfway through the second.

The Bears deficit only grew and a last-minute comeback bid fell short as they split the season series with Mount Saint Vincent and fell to 4-11 in Skyline play.

For the Bears

• Sirakis poured in a game-high 22 points (7-18 FG, 5-12 3FG) while Etheart added 21 (9-14 FG) and eight boards off the bench.
• Mikos finished with 18 points for his seventh-straight game in double-figures.
• Reali contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, and two assists.

Next Up
Their final game of 2019-20 celebrating Senior Day on Saturday (Feb. 22) against Old Westbury at The Hill Center with tip set for 3 p.m. Stats and video will be live at SJCBears.com/live.