Montclair, NJ----Senior guard Chris McIllhatton scored a BC career-high 28 points in the men's basketball team's first win of the season, a 99-98 victory over Montclair State University in a double overtime thriller to close out the opening night of the Ollie Gelston Classic hosted by Montclair State.  Brooklyn improves to 1-1 with the victory.  Next up: The Bulldogs will have a quick turnaround taking on Moravian tomorrow, November 19th, in their second game of the Ollie Gelston Classic at Montclair State.  Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm.  

How It Happened 

• After making two free-throws to give the Bulldogs a 99-96 advantage, junior forward Anaselrahman Abdu blocked a Montclair layup with :04 left in the second overtime that would have given the Red Hawks a one-point lead.  
• Junior point guard Niv Konfino scored a layup with :38 left in the second overtime that gave the Bulldogs a 97-96 advantage and the lead for good; Konfino also scored on jumper that pulled the Bulldogs within a point right before he gave BC the lead.
• Brooklyn led by as many as four points in the first overtime.  However, MSU countered with a couple of unanswered buckets of their own to knot the score 84-84. 
• The Bulldogs led by as many as ten points in the second half with 7:55 remaining in regulation.  
• A late second half run would give the Red Hawks a 78-77 lead with a little over a minute left in regulation.  However, senior center Enees Nikovic would split a pair of free-throws with :54 remaining would force the first overtime.  
• With the score tied 5-5 to start the game, Bulldogs would keep a marginal lead for the next seven minutes of the game.  After falling behind by as many as six points, the Bulldogs would retake the lead, heading into halftime with a 42-37 advantage.
• Four of the five BC starters finished in double-figures in scoring. 

Leading the Bulldogs

• Senior guard Chris McIllhatton led BC in scoring with a career-high 28 points including 6-13 from behind the arc.  
• Senior center Enees Nikovic finished with his second double-double of the season in two games played with 22 points and 10 rebounds. 
• Junior guard Niv Konfino flirted with a tripledouble this evening, finishing with 14 points on 7-14 from the floor, 12 rebounds, and seven assists.  He also finished with a team-high four steals.  

After Tomorrow

• The Bulldogs open at home at the West Quad Center against local non-conference foe, St. Joseph's College Brooklyn.  Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 pm.