Purple Knights Rally To Top ECC Men's Basketball Leader St. Thomas Aquinas, 90-89
Stefano Osuji With 27 Points And Sam Joseph With 25 Points Led The UB Offense
Bridgeport, Conn.-The University of Bridgeport men's basketball team defeated the visiting St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans, 90-89, in a battle of East Coast Conference heavyweights on Wednesday in UB's Hubbell Gym. With the win, the Purple Knights are now 14-9 overall and 9-4 in conference play. Bridgeport has won three straight games and seven of their last eight outings. The loss snaps a none-game winning streak for STAC, as the ECC leaders are now 19-5 overall and 12-3 in conference action.
Wednesday's game was the definition of a back-and-forth affair, as there were 11 ties and 11 lead changes over the forty minutes.
Trailing 81-79 with 2:21 to play, Bridgeport went on a 6-0 run to take an 85-81 lead which they never relinquished with 28 seconds remaining of action. All six of those points came from the foul line as junior Marc Campbell (Elmont, N.Y.) hit two free throws with 1:54 to play, senior Stefano Osuji (Voorhees, N.J.) knocked down two with 1:17 to go and sophomore D'Vonne Trumbo (Franklinville, N.J.) connected on two free throws at the 28-seconds mark. UB trailed by eight points and the half, 46-38, and by as many as 10 points in the second half before mounting its comeback.
Osuji led the Purple Knights on the evening with a career-high 27 points, and he also grabbed a team-best nine rebounds.
UB junior Sam Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tied his season-high with 25 points versus the Spartans, as he connected on 8-of-10 field goals, including 5-of-6 three-point shots. Sam also added five steals on the night
Trumbo rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Purple Knights with 10 points.
Justin Reyes led four St. Thomas Aquinas players in double figures with 25 points, and he finished with a double-double adding a game-best 10 rebounds.
Up next, the UB men's basketball team will look to run its winning streak to four games, when the Purple Knights host Molloy College on Saturday afternoon. Tip-time in Hubbell Gym is set for 3:00 p.m.