WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball team made it two for two under head coach Jim Calhoun in their inaugural men's basketball season, dominating in the second half, and defeating the visiting Medgar Evers College (MEC) Cougars, 95-82, inside the O'Connell Athletic Center.
Freshman guard Chris Childs (Bronx, N.Y.) finished with a game-high 25 points (5-10 3FG), seven rebounds and seven assists. Freshman guard Ryan O'Neill (Litchfield, Conn.) made big contributions once again off the bench, scoring 14 points (4-9 FG) and grabbing five rebounds. Freshman guard Elias Scott (Henryville, Penn.) led the way for the Cougars with 22 points (5-8 3FG), who refused to quit until the final buzzer, trimming a 28-point gap to 13.
Nine different Blue Jays scored and 12 played in total. USJ shot 57.6% from the field (35-62, 12-23 3FG), leading in all but the opening moments.
The Blue Jays (2-0) opened the game with a 12-5 run—led by Childs, who picked up where he left off Friday night against William Paterson--getting hot early, nailing two corner threes in the first two minutes.
The Cougars (0-2) responded out of the timeout with three-pointers of their own. Freshman forward Isaiah Garvey-Mwazi (Athens, N.Y.) drilled one from the top of the circle, as MEC changed to a 1-3-1 half-court zone, hoping to disrupt the flow of the Blue Jays.
The game plan was clear once again for USJ though, making another run behind a balanced transition attack. All five starters scored in the first eight minutes, and St. Joe's held a 20-13 lead with 12:34 to go in the first half.
The Cougars responded again out of the timeout. Scott brought MEC within four points after three-straight three-pointers, one going in off the backboard. USJ led 27-23 mid-way through half number one.
The Blue Jays had an answer for every zone defense MEC Head Coach Brian Nigro threw at them. Childs was ultimately the difference maker offensively, something he was unable to do consistently Friday night, after getting into early foul trouble. He led the way with 17 first-half points on a variety of three-point bombs and hard drives to the hoop. USJ led 47-35 at the break, making more than half of their shots.
St. Joe's followed up by making seven of their first eight shots in the second half (four three-pointers) to put the game away. With help from freshman guard Delshawn Jackson Jr. (Hartford, Conn.), freshman forward Noreaga Davis (Bridgeport, Conn.,) and Childs, the Blue Jays built up a 25-point lead in the first eight minutes and never looked back, leading 76-51.
Jackson Jr. controlled the pace at point, attacking the rim and scoring from deep, while Childs drilled threes from all sides of the floor, along with an assist from half-court to Davis, who scored twice during the run.
MEC battled to the very end but were outscored by USJ 12-2 in fast break points. They also gave up 40 points in the paint. The Blue Jays have scored more than 50% of their points in the second half in their first two games.
St. Joe's will complete their three-game homestand to start the season this Saturday, November 17th against Green Mountain at 5:30 pm in the O'Connell Athletic Center on the campus of USJ.