NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Senior Mike Crisci (Kings Park, N.Y.) scored a game-high 18 points to lead St. Joseph’s College to a 59-43defeat of Mount Saint Mary College in Skyline Conference action on Saturday. The Golden Eagles (9-7, 8-3 Skyline) moved into a tie for second place in the conference, while the Blue Knights (6-11, 5-7 Skyline) lost their third game in a row.
Mount Saint Mary trailed by double digits for the entire second half, but seemed poised to get back into the game near the ten minute mark. Trailing by 15, freshman
Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) knocked down a triple and then St. Joseph’s missed a three at the other end. On the following possession, sophomore
Kevin Milella (Floral Park, N.Y.) extended the play with an offensive rebound and then sophomore
Carlos Valdez (Slate Hill, N.Y.) knocked down a jumper to make it 48-38.
From that point, the Golden Eagles had three empty possessions in a row, but the Mount couldn’t find a way to capitalize. Valdez missed a pair of free throws and then Ragaglia missed back-to-back three-pointers. Junior
Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) missed a tough layup in the lane and St. Joseph’s sophomore Chris Jimenez (Huntington Station, N.Y.) took it the length of the floor for a pull-up jumper.
Several more missed opportunities ensued for the Blue Knights and it was sophomore Shahab Syed (Huntington, N.Y.) who extended the lead back to fourteen (52-38) for the Golden Eagles. The Mount wouldn’t threaten again and St. Joseph’s came away with a sixteen-point win.
Following a lackluster first half, Mount Saint Mary received strong second half efforts from Valdez and Weinberger. Valdez finished just shy of a double-double with 15 points and 9 boards, while Weinberger totaled 6 points and 4 assists. The Blue Knights shot just 29.8-percent from the field and were 3-of-19 from three.
Crisci was 5-for-9 from the floor and a perfect 8-of-8 at the line for his 18 points. Syed totaled 9 points and 7 boards, while Jimenez finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds. Senior Sean Hyde (Shirley, N.J.) was also a near miss for a double-double and tallied 8 points and 9 rebounds.
Currently on the outside looking in at the Skyline tournament, the Blue Knights face a crucial game with Mount Saint Vincent on Wednesday, January 27. Mount Saint Mary will travel to the Dolphins for a 7:00 p.m. tip in Riverdale.