Brooklyn, NY --- The Brooklyn College Men's and Women's Basketball teams will begin their respective quest for a City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Championship this weekend with the start of the quarterfinals round.

Both teams will be hosting the opening round, as the #4 seeded BC Men (12-13 overall / 8-8 CUNYAC) will take on #5 Hunter College (11-13 overall / 7-9 CUNYAC) on Saturday, February 22nd at 1:00 pm at the West Quad Center and the #3 seeded BC Women (19-6 overall / 12-4 CUNYAC) will take on #6 John Jay College of Criminal Justice (9-16 overall / 6-10 CUNYAC) on Sunday, February 23rd at 1:00 pm at the West Quad Center.

* Free food will be available for the first 200 fans in attendance for both games, sponsored in part by BC Student Governments.

Men's Preview

Brooklyn swept Hunter during the regular season, as the Bulldogs clipped the Hawks 79-65 back on January 15th at the West Quad Center and 76-71 earlier this month on February 7th at the Hunter Sportsplex.

If BC can get passed Hunter for a third time this season, the Bulldogs will advance to the semifinals round, where the winner between top seeded College of Staten Island and #8 seeded City College of New York (CCNY) will await. The semifinals round is scheduled be held on Tuesday, February 25th at 6:00 pm at Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of CCNY.

Since 2008-2009, Brooklyn is 8-3 in the CUNYAC Championships, having won back-to-back championships (08-09 & 09-10). The Bulldogs have lost in the semifinals round in two of the last three seasons and will attempt to make another deep run in the conference championships this season and play for its third conference championship in six years.

Looking to help take BC back to the conference final will be the trio of junior Jai Kellman and sophomores Egzon Gjonbalaj and Jamel Gist. All three currently rank in the top-15 in the CUNYAC in scoring, led by Kellman's 17.1 ppg, good for ninth. Gjonbalaj (14.6 ppg) and Gist (14.3 ppg) rank 12th and 13th, respectively. Gjonbalaj was also recently named a CUNYAC Second Team All-Star, while Gist also ranks fourth in league in minutes (33.4 mpg) and ninth in assists (3.0 apg).

All three have played a major role in helping Brooklyn rank third in the conference in scoring offense averaging 74.8 ppg.

Junior Valon Djombalic ranks seventh in the conference in both rebounding (8.1 rpg) and blocks (1.4 bpg). He is also averaging 8.3 ppg.

The Bulldogs are currently playing their best basketball of the season, as Brooklyn won six of its last seven conference games to clinch the 4th seed and home court advantage for the quarterfinals round.

Hunter is led by CUNYAC First Team All-Star senior Frankie Drayton, who is averaging 21.7 ppg, good for second in the conference.

Women's Preview

Brooklyn swept John Jay during the regular season edging out a 46-43 win on January 10th at the Doghouse on the campus of John Jay and cruising to a 67-43 win on February 18th at the West Quad Center in their regular season finale.

If the Bulldogs can get passed the Bloodhounds for a third time this season, Brooklyn will advance to the semifinals round, where the winner between #2 Baruch College and #7 City College of New York (CCNY) will await. The semifinals round is scheduled for Wednesday, February 26th at 8:00 pm at Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of CCNY.

Since 2010-2011, Brooklyn is 5-3 in the CUNYAC Championships, while posting back-to-back runner up finishes (11-12 & 12-13). The Bulldogs will look to make a third straight appearance in the championship final and get over the hump to win the conference title, earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Leading BC this season has been the play of senior Megan Campbell, who is scoring a team-high 15.2 ppg, good for seventh in the conference. Juniors Nacirema Mann (9.3 ppg), Carissa Williams (9.0 ppg) and Nicole Francomano (8.8 ppg) have also helped carry the offensive load this season for the Bulldogs, as the team ranks third in the conference in scoring margin (+9.8).

Campbell (First Team) and Francomano (Second Team) were recently named CUNYAC All-Stars.

As a team, Brooklyn ranks first in the CUNYAC in scoring defense, allowing just 54.4 ppg.

Campbell (7.8 rpg), Mann (6.3 rpg) and junior Asia Foster (6.2 rpg) have all played pivotal roles in helping BC rank second in the CUNYAC in rebounding margin (+8.0).

Francomano leads in the conference in assists (6.5 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.8), while raking second in the league in steals (3.5 spg). She ranks ninth in all of NCAA Division III in assists.

A win in the quarterfinals will give Brooklyn its third straight 20-win season.

John Jay is led by CUNYAC First Team All-Star senior Jamecia Forsythe, who is averaging a double-double with 13.6 ppg and 11.7 rpg.