Bears Survive Late Dolphin Surge to Win Second Straight

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team produced a balanced attack with four Bears finishing in double figures to defeat the College of Mount Saint Vincent, 68-66, on Tuesday night at Brooklyn Technical High School.

The Bears dominated play for most of the game leading by as many as 17 points but held off a late surge by the Dolphins that gave them the opportunity to send the game into overtime in the waning seconds.

St. Joseph's (4-2) remains undefeated at home and moves two games over .500 for the first time since 2006. Mount Saint Vincent (1-2) falls to the Bears for the first time since 2003 in five meetings over that span, maintaining a 5-2 edge in the all-time series.

The Bears were led by sophomore David Louison (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund Prep) who recorded his fourth double-double of the season pouring in 13 points to go along with a game-high 16 rebounds. Junior David Ortiz (Brooklyn, NY/Christ the King) led the Bears in scoring with 14 points on 3-of-5 shooting beyond the arc also bringing down four rebounds, dishing out three assists and swiping three steal.

Sophomore Vernon Maddox (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) came off the bench to drop in 13 points going 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. Senior Jan Rogowski (Woodside, NY/St. John's Prep) also contributed 13 points, falling one rebound shy of his first double-double of the season.

Junior James Zuccaro led all scorers and three Dolphins in double figures with 19 points to go along with a team-high eight caroms. Senior Shaquille Cunningham, the Dolphins' leading scorer coming into the game, produced 17 points and five rebounds.

A layup by Zuccaro off the opening tip gave Mount Saint Vincent their only lead, but the Bears countered with a Ian Duff (Jamaica, NY/Christ the King) layup to start a 13-1 run to build a double-digit lead just over five minutes into the game.  The Bears continued to extend their advantage and a Louison layup that put St. Joseph's up 30-13 with 5:41 left to play in the first half. The Dolphins closed the half outscoring the Bears 12-5 to cut the deficit to ten, 35-25, heading into the locker rooms.

Mount Saint Vincent started the second stanza as the first one ended going on a 14-7 run capped off by a Zuccaro layup that trimmed the Bears lead to three, 42-39, with 16:40 left to play. But an Ortiz trifecta pushed the Bears' lead back up to double digits nearing the midway point of the half.

St. Joseph's opened up a 61-48 lead on a Maddox free throw at the 6:19 mark, but the Bears would be unable to score another field goal for the remainder of the game and the Dolphins worked their way back into the game.

The Bears still led by 10 with just over two minutes to play, but a quick 7-0 Dolphin run on a Zuccaro layup, Oliver triple and Cunningham jumper brought the game to one possession with 49 ticks remaining.

Following a Bears timeout, Maddox was fouled and went one-of-two from the line giving St. Joseph's a 68-64 lead with 37 seconds remaining.

On the Dolphins next possession, Cunningham made a layup and was fouled cutting the deficit to 68-66, but missed the ensuing free throw, but the rebound was secured by Anthony Woods for the Dolphons giving them the final posession with a chance to tie or steal a win. Cunningham made a strong drive to the hoop and was blocked by Louison but rebounded by Zuccaro but his putback attempt too strong and the Bears regained possession as the rebound went out of bounds with one second remaining.

The Bears connected on 43 percent (23-of-54) to outshoot the Dolphins who managed a 33 percent (27-of-81) connect rate, but the Bears struggled from the free throw line, connecting on less than half their attempts (17-of-36) to keep the Dolphins in the contest.  St. Joseph's also were plagued by a season-worst 27 turnovers that Mount Saint Vincent parlayed into 26 points.

St. Joseph's will resume a four-game homestand on Friday, November 30 welcoming the Apprentice School to Brooklyn Technical High School starting at 8 p.m. The Builders are currently ranked #5 in the USCAA and it will be the first meeting ever between the two squads. Athletic director Frank P. Carbone and Danielle Marino will call the action on the live broadcast available from www.SJCBears.com.