Men's Basketball Come Alive in the Second Half to Put Away Medgar Evers

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team rebounded from a sluggish start and came alive in the second-half to down Medgar Evers 88-71 on Wednesday night, improving to 13-7 and 6-0 at the Hill Center.

Michael Megafu (Jamaica, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) led all scorers with 24 on 10-of-18 from the floor. The junior pulled down 12 boards for his tenth double-double of the season.

David Louison (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) only needed the first-half to secure his fifteenth double-double of the year, corralling 12 rebounds before the break. The senior ultimately finished with 14 points and a game-high 17 boards. The Bears are close to unbeatable (7-1) when both forwards contribute double-doubles.

Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) finished with ten helpers after distributing the rock all night, falling one shy of his career-best and two shy of the school record.

Greg Beehler (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) lit it up from beyond the arc, finishing with a personal-best 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting from deep.

Jamir Archer (Staten Island, N.Y./CSI/McCown) and Richard DiPuma (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) chipped in nine points apiece, contributing valuable minutes off the bench.

The Bears led just 8-7 more than six minutes in following a sluggish open. The scoring began to pick up following a pair of DiPuma triples in a span of just 39 seconds that put St. Joseph's up 14-7 at the 12:44 mark.

The Cougars (2-17) utilized a 13-6 run to draw even at 20 with 5:40 remaining in the first. After the sides traded baskets the remainder of the half, the Bears entered the intermission trailing 36-34.

St. Joseph's enforced their will in the second, feeding Louison and Megafu under the rim and sinking timely threes to grasp control. They opened the half with a 21-9 run to establish their first double-digit advantage (55-45) with 13:23 remaining.

The lead remained above double-digits and ballooned to 20 (75-55) following Megafu's layup at the 5:18 mark.

St. Joseph's responded positively after falling victim to Staten Island's late comeback on Saturday, sustaining momentum for the entire second-half tonight to convincingly put away their opponent.

The Bears also rebounded from a sluggish first-half performance in which they shot 32.4 percent from the floor and relied heavily on seven-made threes to stay in contention. St. Joseph's responded with a sizzling 62.2 percent (23-37) performance in the second, outscoring the Cougars 54-35.

The Bears drained double-digit three-pointers for just the fourth time all season, finishing 12-of-25 (48%) from long range. 

St. Joseph's will stay put in the Hill Center for Alumni Night on Saturday, January 31, hosting Valley Forge Christian at 7 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.