The Medgar Evers College men's basketball team faced off against the City College of New York at the Cougars Cave in Brooklyn, NY, on Thursday, January 3.

The Cougars (3-9, 2-2 CUNYAC) beat the Beavers (1-10, 1-3) by a final score of 88-76.

MEC started slow again and found themselves behind 20-8 midway through the first half. After a fiery timeout pep talk by Head Coach Brian Nigro, the Cougars clawed their way back and took the lead after a three-pointer by Sean Webb made the game 36-34 with 1:55 left in the half.

The black-and-gold extended their four-point halftime lead to as much as 15 with about 11 minutes left in the game, but CCNY did not give up the fight. Romello Rashad (24 pts, 11 reb, 8 ast, 6 stl) kept the Beavers in the game with a number of impressive plays and the score was 71-69 Medgar with 4:27 remaining. However, MEC only increased their lead from there and closed out their third victory of the season.

With the win, the Cougars are well-positioned in the middle of the CUNYAC pack to make a run at the playoffs.

Webb and Justin Sutton each contributed 21 points, while Darrell Spaulding (seven assists) and Joancarlo Bonilla added 13 and 11, respectively. Jafet Thomas also posted an impressive line of seven points, nine rebounds and five blocks.

The Cougars return to action on Saturday, January 5 at 4 pm when they travel to Baruch College to take on the Bearcats in New York, NY.