BROOKLYN --- (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) SUNY Old Westbury men's basketball scored four players in double-figures despite dropping an 81-63 Skyline Conference road decision to the St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) Bears Wednesday evening from The Hill Center.

Old Westbury (1-4, 1-1 Skyline) jumped ahead off Lucken Victor's jumper 58 seconds into play for an early 2-0 lead.  Matt O'Neill then answered by landing a three pointer to give the Bears (3-2, 2-1 Skyline) a 3-2 lead.  Both teams combined for six lead changes during the opening 20 minutes of play.  Trailing 7-4, P.J. Page launched a three pointer to ignite a 13-3 Panther run from 16:42 to 11:47 for Old Westbury's largest lead of the game (17-10).  The Bears used an 8-0 spurt to regain a brief 18-17 lead with 7:43 remaining.  Jamail Stanley dunked home two of his six first-half points to give the Panthers a 28-26 lead at the 1:22 mark.  Michael Murray sank one free throw with 23 seconds left to make it a 28-27 game as Old Westbury held the slim lead at intermission.

Stanley dropped in a layup at 15:43 to cap a 9-2 run to give Old Westbury its largest lead of the half (37-33).  Old Westbury held its final lead with 5:58 remaining when Lylle Ryals connected on three of his eight second-half points to give the Panthers a 55-53 advantage.  Alec Willis scored five-straight points to spark a 28-7 St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) scoring spree that gave the Bears a game-high 19-point lead with 19 seconds left.  

Stanley and Mark Gjonlekaj both scored 15 points to pace the Panthers on offense.  Stanley added seven rebounds, four blocks (career-high) and one steal to his stat line as Gjonlekaj finished with six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.  Keith Lackersonfollowed with 14 points (4-of-8 FG) while Ryals totaled 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals.  Stephon Odle tied a career-high with four assists.  

O'Neill posted game-highs of 27 points (4-of-7 3FG) and seven steals to lead St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) to victory.  Michael Megafu added 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.  Justin Manor went for 12 points and Murray followed with 10.  

Old Westbury shot 32.8 percent (21-of-64) from the field while connecting on 21.2 percent (7-of-33) from three-point range and 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the free-throw line.  By comparison, St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) shot 39.1 percent (25-of-64) from the floor, 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from beyond the arc and 59.5 percent (22-of-37) at the charity stripe.  The Bears won the boards battle, 48-41, scoring 15 second-chance points off 13 offensive rebounds.  Old Westbury held the advantage in assists (14-10), blocks (10-4), fast-break points (8-2) and bench scoring (25-21) while the Bears gained the upper hand in steals (12-8), points in the paint (28-24), and bench scoring (28-21). St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) also converted 20 Panther turnovers into 20 points.  

MARITIME PRIVATEERS UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury returns home for Saturday's (Dec. 5) Skyline Conference showdown versus the Maritime Privateers at 12 p.m. from Clark Athletic Center.  

On Saturday, Old Westbury's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will once again join forces with the United States Marine Corps for the fifth-consecutive year to host its first of two Toys for Tots events.  Fans are invited to donate new, unwrapped toys that will later be distributed to children in need.  Admission is $3 or a new, unwrapped toy, and students are free with school ID.  Fans can drop donations in the marked "Toys for Tots" bin at the entrance to Clark Athletic Center.          

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