Farmingdale State - 90, St. Joseph's-Brooklyn - 69
Farmingdale, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State men's basketball team improved to 14-4 in the Skyline Conference after a convincing defeat of St. Joseph's-Brooklyn this afternoon, 90-69. FSC has moved into sole possession of first place in the conference after Mount Saint Vincent fell to Old Westbury earlier today.
Leading 13-10 only 5:48 into the game, the Rams (16-7) used a jumper by junior forward George Riefenstahl (Bayport, N.Y.) and a 3 by senior guard Liam Monaghan to go up by eight. After a pair of free-throws by SJC-BK (8-15, 7-11 Skyline) sophomore forward Stephane Etheart (Hollis, N.Y.), Farmingdale State went on a 14-3 run to take a 17-point lead, 32-15, with 7:44 left in the half.
The Bears would respond with a quick 6-1 run to close within 12, but FSC would outscore the Bears 17-3 to close the half as they went into the break leading by 26, 50-24.
Riefenstahl tallied a game-leading 13 points in the first half, while Rams junior guard Ali Mableton (Brentwood, N.Y.) dished out six assists.
St. Joe's-Brooklyn opened the second half on a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to 22, 52-30. Farmingdale State would answer with an 11-4 run, capped off by a Chaz Platt (Jamaica, N.Y.) 3-pointer, to open up a 29-point advantage, 63-34.
With 12:51 remaining and FSC holding a 66-38 lead, a 3 by Monaghan, two free-throws by junior forward Eriq Williams (Valley Stream, N.Y.) and a Kyle Beeson (South Ozone Park, N.Y.) dunk put FSC up by 35.
Over the final 9:55 of the game, the Bears outscored Farmingdale State 31-17, but it was not enough as the Rams earned the conference win, 90-69.
Riefenstahl finished with 13 points and game-high nine rebounds, while Monaghan and junior guard Matthew Graham (Valley Stream, N.Y.) produced 12 points each. Sophomore forward Jermaine Fraser totaled 10 points and a career-high four blocks in the victory.
For St. Joe's-Brooklyn, Etheart totaled a game-high 16 points to go along with six rebounds, while junior forward Aaron Parra (Brooklyn, N.Y.) registered 13 points off the bench.
Farmingdale State next hosts Yeshiva for a conference game on Tuesday, February 13th at 8:00 p.m.
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