SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - For the second straight game, the Union College men's basketball team came up one possession short of a victory as the Dutchmen dropped a 70-68 contest to St. Joseph's University (L.I.) in the consolation game of the 2022 Sig Makofski Invitational, held on Sunday afternoon at Viniar Athletic Center.

Senior Justin Regis had a great game to earn All-Tournament Team honors, flirting with a triple-double on the way to 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Classmate Mike Manley went for a team-high 25 points and first-year Aren Cummings added 14 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Aidan McGee grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for Union (0-5).

Xavier Allen was nearly unstoppable for St. Joseph's (2-3), going off for a game-high 34 points to earn his spot on the All-Tournament Team. Timothy Hirdt was the only other Golden Eagle in double figures with 10 points.

Union came out of the games flying on Sunday afternoon, jumping out to an 14-3 lead. Regis had Union's first five points and Cummings scored six straight during the run, which was capped by a Manley three 4:18 into the contest. The Golden Eagles quickly came back with 10 straight points to whittle the lead down to one point, but the home team sent the lead back to double figures just as quickly, getting to a game-high 13 points at 33-20 with 6:45 remaining. A jumper by McGee in the final minute gave Union a 39-29 lead at the half.

The Dutchmen shot well from the field in the opening frame, hitting 51.7 percent (15 of 29) from the field and nailing 7-of-14 three-point shots. The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, were limited to 39.1 percent shooting (9 of 23) from the field.

The shooting percentages switched in the second stanza, however, as St. Joseph's outscored Union by 12 points to mount a comeback. The visitors mounted a 15-2 run to even the score at 44 with 12:50 left, but five straight points from senior Connor Cepiel put Union back on top. However, an 11-2 run gave St. Joseph's its first lead of the night at 55-51 with 7:42 on the clock.

Union came back to knot the score at 61 following a McGee layup with 2:36 remaining, but Allen continued a lights-out second half with a three on the next possession to put the visitors back ahead. Two more Allen jumpers made it a seven-point lead with under a minute remaining, but Union hit enough free throws to stay in the game. The Dutchmen had one last possession with a few seconds remaining, but the home team could not get a last shot off to suffer another heartbreaking defeat.

St. Joseph's hit 16-of-29 (55.2 percent) of it shots from the field in the second half to finish the game at 48.1 percent, while Union connected on just 10-of-37 (27.0 percent) second-half field-goal attempts, including a 1-of-15 mark from beyond the arc, to finish at 37.9 percent on the game.

Union will begin Liberty League play next weekend with a trip to the North Country, beginning on Friday night with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at St. Lawrence University. 

In Sunday's Sig Makofski Championship game, Tournament MVP Jesse O'Dell went for 18 points and nine rebounds as SUNY Poly defeated Saint Joseph's (Maine) by a 79-61 score. All-Tournament Team member Dylan Ernst added a game-high 19 points and eight boards as part of a balanced offensive effort that saw four Wildcats reach double figures. Ashtyn Abbott had 32 points in two games to earn All-Tournament Team honors for the Monks.