BRONX, N.Y. — A near triple-double from Sebastien Etheart (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep), leading four players in double-figures, helped the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team (9-13) hold off a late run from Lehman College (7-14) to take their second-straight win in their final non-Skyline matchup of the season.

Etheart recorded 24 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists, leading the Bears in all three major categories while being just one assist shy of a triple-double.

How It Happened
The Bears' first possession ended with a Matt McQuillen (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) three-pointer that would spur an early 15-4 run, establishing their first big lead of the game. A couple of spot-up trifectas and a fastbreak layup pulled Lehman back within three points (15-12) with about 13 minutes left in the half.

The navy and gray then ran away with 14 unanswered points over a three-minute span to take a 29-12 lead. Lehman again pushed back, cutting the Bears' lead to single digits twice. The Lightning finished off the half on a 12-3 run in the final six minutes before Bryan Medy (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) made a reverse layup in the closing seconds to push the Bears' advantage back to double digits (43-32).

The second half saw the Lightning make several scoring spurts to cut into SJC's lead. They didn't gain significant ground until a 14-5 run in which they held the Bears to 1-for-9 shooting to cut the deficit to one (62-61). However, St. Joseph's would halt their momentum, narrowly outscoring Lehman by four points to finish the half and complete the victory.

For the Bears

• Captain Dimitri Sirakis (Hollis, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) poured in 18 points and four assists. He shot 4-for-8 from three-point land, his third game of the season hitting four-plus beyond the arc.
• McQuillen and Frank Reali (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan Wagner) both chipped in 10 points with both players knocking down multiple trifectas.
• Medy put up nine points, four boards, and three assists, coming up big in crunch time off the bench for the Bears.

Next Up for the Bears
A return to The Hill Center playing host to Yeshiva University (14-5, 12-2 Skyline) for Senior Night in the second game of a basketball doubleheader on Thursday (Feb. 7) with live stats and video available at SJCBears.com.