The Bulldogs of Beacon relinquished the slight lead that they had held for the majority of the game only to regain it in the final quarter to beat the Patriots of John Jay 61-59.  Wade Carmichael led Beacon with 22 points, while All-Tournament team Selection Alex Smith added 16 points.  Joe Lombardi and Kyle Berk had 22 and 16, respectively, for the Patriots.

In a first half laden with turnovers by both teams, Beacon was able to get by the Patriot defenders and get to the basket against a weak help side defense for the early advantage.  Wade Carmichael was able to pour in several mid-range jumpers en route to his 16 first half points to lead the Bulldogs.  Alex Smith’s field goal at the buzzer to conclude the first quarter put Beacon up 20-17.  More penetration by Carmichael and offensive put-backs by Rob Alvarez and Matt Morse enabled the Bulldogs to push the lead up another point before halftime, 32-28.

The teams traded baskets early on in the third quarter, but Carmichael and Smith’s pull-up jumpers in transition extended the lead to 43-33 halfway through the quarter.  Jay was able to get back into the game by pushing ball up the court and then going at the basket hard.  A technical foul on Matt Morse, which resulted in Morse fouling out, and then a three-pointer from Berk, narrowed the gap to two, 45-43.  Jay would close out the quarter on a 17-3 run when Justin Fricker netted a running one-hander, giving Jay the lead, 49-46, heading into the final quarter of action. The teams again traded buckets throughout the first few minutes of the fourth quarter.  After a timeout called by Beacon Coach Tom Powers, the Bulldogs were able to execute a quick hitter for Alvarez and extend Beacon’s slim lead to 59-56.  Turnovers on consecutive possessions by the Patriots with under a minute remaining proved to be fatal to their comeback effort as the Bulldogs hung on to win by two.

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