PHOENIXVILLE, PA- The men's basketball team hosted their first home game of the spring portion of the season, Thursday, January 23, inviting St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) into The Pit.  The Patriots were unable to exploit the home court advantage and endured a loss to the Bears, 76-82.

The two teams appeared equally matched throughout much of the first half, trading shot for shot to juggle a one point lead throughout the first 14 minutes. With time winding down before the half, the Bears used a 10-3 run to put themselves ahead of the Patriots.  St. Joseph's headed into the locker room with a seven points advantage, 45-38.  The Bears edged out of the Patriots on the floor, shooting 58% compared to the host school's 48%.

As the second half came underway, the Patriots started to suffer from allowing the Bear's high shooting percentage in the first half.  A crumbling defense combined with unnecessary turnovers saw the Bear's lead grow larger and larger.  The Patriots displayed spurts of offensive strength, but battling against a double-digit deficit proved to be too much against the Bear's scrappy defense and aggressive offense.  The Bears shot 53% while the Patriots managed just 43%.  The men did control the boards, out rebounding the visitors 32-42, but committed more turnovers to give up the chance of lead.

"We got down in the second half by a decent margin and due to offensive struggles; it was too big a hole to get out of.  We didn't seem able to shake the weight of the errors we were committing.  It's a lesson we need to learn quickly as the season progresses." Stated Coach Ronshea Vargas.

Kevin Mack led the team in scoring, recording 20 points in addition to seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.  Lance Harris followed right behind with 17 points to his name with eight assists and six rebounds.

The Patriots remain at home for their next game, hosting Bryn Athyn College on Saturday, January 25.  The game is set to start at 3 pm.

Go Patriots!