Box Score

Jamaica, NY---The Brooklyn College Men' s Basketball Team (4-1, 1-0 CUNYAC) won an early season showdown as they defeated York College (1-6, 0-1 CUNYAC), by a score of 71-62.

The Bridges were successful on eight of their first nine field goal attempts, and built an early 25-9 lead less than seven minutes into the opening stanza. Richard Jean-Baptiste (St. John's Prep / Queens, NY) highlighted the outburst, netting 15 points - all from behind the arc.  The Cardinals slowly recovered, pulling to within three points at 34-31 on an Omari Phipps lay-up with 3:07 left to play. A Thomas Guerin (St. Edmund Prep / Brooklyn, NY) steal turned into a three-pointer by Daniel Nisbett (Michael J. Petrides / Staten Island, NY) that bumped the BC edge back to six points.

A jumper by Ryan Exum started the second half and spurred York on an 11-2 run, giving them a six point lead 45-39 with 14:05 left to play. Brooklyn battled back, pulling to within one point, 48-47 on a three-pointer by Ahmad Hemingway (Curtis / Brooklyn, NY).  Jean-Baptiste then hit a short jumper to put the Bridges on top with just over 11 minutes remaining.  Moments later, Jean-Baptiste hit his seventh three-pointer of the game, giving BC a four-point edge midway through the period.

The Cardinals hung tough, keeping the margin to six or fewer until Nahum Verna connected on a three-pointer at the 4:02 mark to tie the game at 59-59. The two team then combined for six missed shots and five turnovers before another point was scored. Hemingway nailed the game-winner for the Bridges with just over two minutes to go.  Guerin hit eight free throws in the final 1:24 to seal the victory for Brooklyn.

Jean-Baptiste led all scorers, dropping 23 points and adding seven boards.  Three other starters scored in double figures. Guerin had 17 points and six assists, Hemingway added 15 points, while Nisbett had 14 points and five steals. Phipps led the Cardinals with 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Brooklyn will host Staten Island on Thursday at 7:30 pm in another key early season contest.