LANCASTER, PA – Juniors Jan Rogowski (Woodside, NY/St. John's Prep) and Thomas Karasinski (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp) combined to drain 10 three-pointers and the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team shot 52 percent in the second half to break open a one-point game at halftime and take a 75-52 win over Lancaster Bible College on the road on Friday night.
St. Joseph's (12-12, 4-2 HVMAC) has assembled a season-best four-game winning streak and returns to the .500 mark for the fourth time this season. The last time the Bears have built a four-game winning streak was the 2006-07 season, doing it on two separate occasions and finishing with a 21-win season.
Rogowski and Karasinski each connected on 5-of-8 from three-point land; Rogowski finishing with a game-high 20 points along with six rebounds and Karasinski tallying 15 points in a reserve role. The Bears as a team finished with 12-of-22 shooting (55 percent) from behind the arc. Freshman Kevin Alesi (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) chipped 10 points to round out the Bears in double figures. Freshman David Louison (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund's Prep) had a near double-double, adding eight points and grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.
Lancaster Bible (6-16, 4-8 NEAC) was led by Darrell Epps who netted 16 points. Corey Leonard added 10 points and Brett Derr pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. The Chargers finished with 37 percent shooting (22-of-60) and managed to only connect on one three-pointer for the contest.
The Bears stuggled early, committing five turnovers and going 1-for-7 over the first seven minutes and Lancaster Bible jumped out to a 13-3 lead. With the Chargers still leading by nine nearing the midway point of the half, the Bears scored 10 points unanswered to take their first lead of the game, 18-17. In all, the Bears would go on an 17-2 run over five minutes powered by five trifectas – two from Karasinski, and one from Rogowski, Alesi and Antoine Forehand (New York, NY/Rice) – extending to their largest lead of the half, 27-19. But the Chargers closed the half outscoring the Bears, 8-1, sending the teams into the lockers separated by one, 32-31.
In the second half, St. Joseph's broke open a tie game with a 11-1 run powered again by the long-ball with Rogowski posting eight points in a minute-and-a-half with two triples and Karasinski adding another trifeca and the lead stayed in double-figures for the remainder of the contest. After 47 percent in the first half, the Bears defense limited the Chargers to seven field goals and only 25 percent shooting, and Lancaster Bible struggled to keep pace with the Bears who connected on 17-of-33 to continue extending their advantage until the final buzzer.
The Bears would finish with a season second best 48 percent shooting (29-for-60) while the Chargers finished with 37 percent shooting (22-of-60).
St. Joseph's returns home to close out the regular season on Tuesday, February 14th hosting the College of Staten Island. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Technical High School and the game will be followed with Senior Night festivities honoring co-captains Justin Gist & Antoine Forehand.