BROOKLYN, NY - The Medgar Evers College men's basketball team hosted Clarks Summit University at the Cougars Cave on Tuesday, November 12.

The Cougars (1-1) defeated the Defenders (0-2) by a final score of 94-92.

The early action was back-and-forth, with Medgar trailing 9-8, before going on a 10-2 run to make the score 18-11, with Jonathan Grimsley scoring 14 of the black-and-gold points. The Cougars led the rest of the first half, with the lead stretching to as large as 15 points after a Marcus Lewis layup made the score 43-28. Medgar led by 12 at the intermission.

A Grimsley jumper with 9:27 remaining put Medgar up by 19 points, their largest lead of the game. With just 4:29 remaining, the Cougars held a 17-point advantage, and the team's first victory of the season was just within their grasp.

The team scored just three points over the next three minutes as they struggled to hit a shot or a free throw, and with one minute left, the Defenders were down by just six points. A pair of Lewis free throws put the team up 94-86 with just 42 seconds left, but Clarks Summit made a three-pointer, then a pair of free throws, then a layup with eight seconds remaining to make the score 94-92.

Medgar missed both of their free throws after CSU fouled, giving the Defenders a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Marcus Dixon's halfcourt shot attempt was too far left and the Cougars escaped with the two-point victory.

"We played hard all game, we just need to play smarter," said Head Coach Brian Nigro. "We have to get better on the defensive end and learn how to close games out."

Grimsley finished with 38 points in his debut in black-and-gold, as well as nine rebounds and six steals. Lewis totaled 17 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, while Keison McIntosh chipped in 16 points and a clutch jumper with just over a minute left.

The team won despite being outrebounded 63-41, as well as only hitting five of 30 three-pointers and 15 of 37 free throw attempts. On a positive note, Medgar only had 13 turnovers throughout the game while forcing 38 from Clarks Summit, and grabbed 20 huge offensive rebounds while leading almost wire-to-wire.

The Cougars return to action this Friday for their first game in the Western New England Tip-Off, hosted by Western New England University in Springfield, MA. The Cougars take on Pine Manor College on Friday, November 15, at 6 pm, before facing either the hosts or Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Saturday.