New York, NY- Three players scored in double figures for the Cougars (16-11), which will seek their first title since 1991 and compete in their first finals since 2002 – when they fell to Staten Island. CUNYAC/Con Edison All-Star Jovan Deare tallied 18 points and eight rebounds, while Winston Douglas chipped in with 14 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals. James Gilmore added 11 points and four assists for Medgar Evers. The second seed utilized a 21-9 advantage in points off turnovers to help the winning cause – including a 16-4 edge in the second half.
Hunter (13-14) was led by a 12-point effort from Mark Courtien, while Joel Cerda shot 5-for-9 from the floor en route to 11 points. Izzy Hoffman scored eight points and four assists for the Hawks, who shot 40 percent from the field (20-for-50), but were victimized by 21 turnovers against a pressure defense from Medgar Evers.
The Hawks' 19-16 halftime lead slowly grew to a 10-point margin (34-24) with 11:18 to go on a layup by Cerda. However, Douglas later converted a two-handed dunk on the break with 8:49 remaining, starting a 9-0 run that knotted the game at 36-all with 6:47 left after four straight points by Deare.
"I think we finally got the nervousness out of our system with seven minutes left in the game," said Medgar Evers head coach Chris Pursoo. "We were nervous and tense the entire game, but Hunter eventually came out of their 2-3 zone and had trouble matching up man-to-man with us. And that, combined with our full-court press, allowed us to make strides and settle down. We had fresher legs in the last five minutes of the game - thankfully."
The lead flip-flopped on three occasions thereafter, with the Cougars taking control behind a 9-0 spurt en route to a 50-43 edge with 1:36 remaining that they would never relinquish.
Hunter came out strong defensively, taking a 9-0 advantage and not allowing a hoop by Medgar Evers until the 12:26 mark. The Hawks' lead hovered between three and seven points for most of the rest of the half, until an 8-1 run by the Cougars tied the game at 16-all when Douglas made his third hoop of the stretch with just under one minute remaining. Jeffrey Daza knocked down a trifecta with 30 seconds left to send Hunter into the locker room up by three.
"Hunter is a very long team," explained Pursoo. "They give us problems with their height and length; that's why they beat us during the regular season."
"It has been a turnaround for the whole program this season," said Deare. "We worked hard in the spring, in the summer and in the fall. We have been working towards getting to this point. It feels good getting to the final, but we want more."
In the first game, CSI beat Brooklyn College 73-70 OT
Staten Island 73, Brooklyn 70 (OT)
Young added a game-best 14 rebounds for the Dolphins (17-9), who are in search of their first CUNYAC title since 2002. Fellow first-team all-star, T.J. Tibbs registered 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals, while freshman Bloochy Magliore came off the bench to net 12 points. Staten Island overcame a 21-turnover outing by shooting 6-for-15 from 3-point range and by utilizing a 17-12 edge in second-chance points – many coming from Young.
Brooklyn (15-12), the two-time defending champions, placed three players in double-figure scoring, including a 19-point, nine-rebound effort from Ahmad Hemingway. Senior Amil John contributed 18 points, seven rebounds and a game-high four steals, while CUNYAC/Con Edison All-Star Tyshawn Russell added 16 points and four assists.
“It was a great game to watch,” said Staten Island head coach Tony Petosa. “It took us a long time to figure it out, but both teams played their hearts out tonight.”
In overtime, Hemingway converted a layup on Brooklyn's first possession before Magliore stuck a jumper with 3:41 to go. John put the Bulldogs back up by two 22 seconds later, before a trifecta by Tibbs pushed Staten Island in front, 69-68, with 2:05 remaining. Brooklyn came right back down the court to take a one-point edge on a Hemingway lay-in. However, Young's conventional 3-point play with 32 seconds remaining gave Staten Island the lead at 72-70. After Cudjoe missed a jumper in the lane, Young converted just his first free throw with 10-plus seconds left. Off the miss of the second shot, the Bulldogs got a great look to tie the game when Russell fired a 23-footer from the right elbow. However, the shot bounced off the iron and the Dolphins ended Brooklyn's championship reign.
“It was reminiscent of the game we played two weeks ago when we lost to Brooklyn,” explained Petosa. “But we managed to play a near-perfect last five minutes of the game tonight.”
The Bulldogs held a 33-32 edge at halftime, and led for most of the beginning portion of the second half. Staten Island then utilized an 8-0 run, with a pair of Magliore trifectas sandwiching two free throws by Young, to take a 43-41 lead with 10:30 to go. Hemingway canned two freebies from the charity stripe with 9:04 to go in regulation, kick-starting 12-1 run that saw Brooklyn take a 58-47 lead with 6:02 showing on the clock. From there, the Dolphins made another run of their own, scoring the next 11 points (including eight by Young) of the contest to knot the score at 58-all when Young's lay-in fell with 3:03 showing.
“Young deserves a lot of credit; he played a great game,” said Brooklyn head coach Steve Podias. “He was being a leader out on the floor tonight. Instead of looking at the guards, he looked for his own shot. And obviously, he was feeling it.”
CSI took a three-point lead at 62-59 with 1:55 showing on a pair at the charity stripe by Tibbs, before a conventional 3-point play by Darnell Cudjoe knotted the score with 1:28 left. John's layup put the Bulldogs up by two on their next possession, before Magliore tied the game at 64 with under 48 seconds left. Both teams missed shots on their next possessions, setting up a full-length inbound by Brooklyn with just over one second to go in regulation. However, the inbound pass was stolen at midcourt by Magliore and his 45-footer at the horn rimmed out to send the game to the extra session.
The teams traded baskets in the opening four-plus minutes of action, with Taranto's 3-pointer knotting the score at 5-all with 15:45 remaining. However, Brooklyn scored the next eight points of the contest, with Russell and John netting four points apiece to stake the Bulldogs to a 13-5 edge with 12:48 on the clock. The Dolphins utilized an 8-0 run of their own to take a 26-25 advantage on Young's put-back with 4:51 to go. From there, Keiran Halton knocked down a jumper on Brooklyn's next possession and the fourth seed took a 33-32 lead into the halftime break.
“It feels special to get to this point,” said Young. “Every day, we come to practice and work hard and we are going to continue the hard work the next couple of days, and get ready for Saturday.”
