Bears Battle Back, Defeat Vaughn

BROOKLYN, NY – The St. Joseph's men's basketball team has made a habit lately of falling behind early before coming back in the end. Their toughness was tested once again, as Vaughn held a 14 point first half advantage, but the Bears never-say-die attitude shone through in a 67-57 victory.

St. Joseph's is now 5-14 overall, 3-1 in the Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference, sitting alone in second place in the conference standings.

The Bears had fallen behind early in their last three games, and against Vaughn was no different. St. Joseph's trailed in by 14 and 13 to Rutgers-Camden and Berkeley before making great second half comebacks, only to fall just short at the end. In their win against Culinary, the Bears also trailed in the early going, but went on to win 80-51.

Jason Ramos gave the Warriors a nine point edge with a three at the 12:49 mark of the first half, and Jared Ndiba extended that lead to 14, 26-12, with just under eight minutes before the break. Ndiba had a team-high eight first half points and was 4-of-5 from the field.

St. Joseph's hadn't gained much ground and trailed by 13 with 2:48 remaining in the first when Antoine Forehand (New York, NY/Rice) took over. Forehand had seven of his 11 first half points in the final 2:39 and Jan Rogowski (Woodside, NY/St. John's Prep) brought the Bears to within two at 31-29, with a layup just before the half ended.

The Warriors didn't fade quietly and pushed their lead back to six to start the second half. The Bears answered with an 8-0 run, highlighted by a three-pointer from Jon Matzelle (Maspeth, NY/St. Francis Prep) to take their first lead of the game at 39-37.

Vaughn tied the game on the following possession, but another Rogowski layup gave the Bears the lead back, which they never relinquished.

The Bears had little trouble finishing off the Warriors in the latter part of the second half, opening up a 16 point lead and going on to win by ten.

St. Joseph's has done a better job of securing the ball, committing fewer than 20 turnovers for the fourth consecutive game, fueling their recent success. The Bears are now winners of three of their last five games.

Forehand, Rogowski, Matzelle and Donald Coleman (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth) combined for 60 of the teams 67 points and were 26-for-49 from the field. Forehand and Rogowski each had a game-high tying 16 points and Coleman finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double in five games. Matzelle taillied 13 points.

Vaughn was led by Mahdi Macbahi who had a game-high tying 16 points and a game-high 15 boards for the double-double. Ramos (13) and Ndiba (12) also finished in double figures for the Warriors.

The Bears open February with a game at Sarah Lawrence on the 1st, as they continue their stretch of five straight games against HVMAC opponents. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30.