Box Score

Brooklyn, NY --- The Brooklyn College Men's Basketball Team (19-5, 11-2 CUNYAC) saw their five-game winning streak halted when they were turned back by York College (13-12, 10-3 CUNYAC) by a final score of 82-77. Despite the loss, the Bridges secured the number two seed in the upcoming CUNYAC / Con Edison Men's Basketball Tournament.

The Cardinals raced out to a quick lead as Nick Hamilton-Lopez (Pfieffer / Middle Village, NY) scored seven quick points during the game-opening 15-7 run.  A three-pointer by Richard Jean-Baptiste (St. John's Prep / Queens, NY) cut the gap to 15-13, but York stormed back. Marcel Esonwune (Marist Brothers / Lagos, Nigeria) stole an errant pass and conveted on a dunk to start the rally.  Nahum Verna's (Hillcrest / Port-au-Prince, Haiti) triple put the Cardinals up by 16, 36-20 with seven minutes to go in the stanza.  

A 12-2 run by the Bridges was capped by a steal and lay-in from senior guard Reginald Posey  (Msgr. Scanlon / Brooklyn, NY), who prior to the game was honored as part of the senior day festivities for his committment and dedication to BC program. That brought Brooklyn to within 38-32, but a 9-1 Cardinals spurt closed the half, giving the visitors a 47-33 halftime cushion.

The Bridges opened the second half with a 16-5 run, as a pair of three-pointers by Daniel Nisbett (Michael J. Petrides / Staten Island, NY) bookended a Thomas Guerin jumper (St. Edmund Prep / Brooklyn, NY) and closed the gap to 53-49 with just under 15 minutes to play.  The York lead swayed between six and nine points over the next seven minutes until a three-pointer by Hamilton-Lopez extended the margin to 11 points.

Fould shots from Amil John (South Shore / Brooklyn, NY) and Darnell Cudjoe (Murray Bergtraum / Brooklyn, NY) cut the deficit to three points, 74-71 with 4:15 to go, and the score remained unchanged for more than two minutes.  Free throws by Hamilton-Lopez and Esonwune in the final 90 seconds proved to be the final dagger, as the Cardinals locked up the 82-77 triumph.

BC was led by Nisbett, who netted 23 points on an 8-of-16 shooting performance.  Jean-Baptiste chipped in with 20 points and nine rebounds.  Cudjoe added nine points and 11 boards off the bench.  York was paced by Esonwune's 24 points, 12 rebounds, and six blocked shots.  Hamilton-Lopez also netted 24 for the Cardinals.

Brooklyn will have a non-conference tune-up prior to the start of the CUNYAC / Con Edison Men's Basketball Tournament, as they travel to Yeshiva University on Monday evening for an 8:00 pm tip.