Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
Loss to Old Westbury
99
Winner SUNY Old Westbury OWB 4-1
95
Medgar Evers Cougars MEDGAR 1-5
Winner
SUNY Old Westbury OWB
4-1
99
Final
95
Medgar Evers Cougars MEDGAR
1-5
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
SUNY Old Westbury OWB 43 47 9 99
Medgar Evers Cougars MEDGAR 37 53 5 95

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Despite valiant upset bid, Panthers beat Cougars in OT

Box Score
Archived Video

The Medgar Evers men's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking defeat Monday evening, falling to the Panthers of SUNY Old Westbury by a score of 99-95 in overtime. The contest took place at the Cougars Cave in Brooklyn, NY. With the loss, Medgar dips to 1-5 on the 2021-2022 campaign, while the Panthers improved to 4-1 on the young season.

Entering action, the Panthers were averaging 96.5 points per evening, and had beaten the opposition by an average of 15 points per game in their three victories. SUNY Old Westbury had also beaten fellow CUNYAC schools Brooklyn College and Hunter College, as well. Medgar Evers gave the Panthers all they could handle, though, coming one or two plays short of registering the upset.

Despite the loss, senior Keison McIntosh put on a dazzling performance, knocking down eight shots from downtown to finish with a team-high 27 points. He also added six rebounds, as well. For McIntosh, it was his fifth time as a Cougar knocking down eight from long range, and it marked the second time the senior had accomplished the feat in a matter of seven days. Junior Mousa Sinera was ferocious all evening, as he netted 19 points while pulling down a game-high 25 rebounds (nine on the offensive glass). He also contributed a team-high five assists, tied for the team-high of two steals, and tied for the game-high of two swatted shots.

Andre Evans Jr., who earlier in the day was announced as CUNYAC's Rookie of the Week for the second consecutive Monday, scored 19 points while adding four helpers and snatching three boards. Freshman Dante Simmons netted 19 points and added two assists, as well.

In the victory for SUNY Old Westbury, point guard Zachary Cummings played the entire game, logging 45 minutes and knocking down five triples on his way to finishing with a game-high 29 points. The standout guard also posted game-highs of seven assists and six steals, while also snatching six rebounds. Charles Wingate finalized his evening with 20 points, six assists, and five rebounds, and Jonathan Jamieson contributed 14 points, five rebounds, and three dimes. Finally, it was Jordan Johnson-Rader posting a double-double, scoring 12 points and snatching 12 caroms (including eight on the offensive glass).

It looked as though the Panthers might run away with this one in the early stages, as SUNY Old Westbury raced out to a 25-14 edge with 10:31 remaining in the opening half. A strong 15-3 run over a span of 4:29, though, put the Cougars out in front by a score of 29-28 with 6:10 left in the session. That Medgar run was highlighted by Evans Jr, who netted five points during the spurt, and Sinera four points.

The squads exchanged the lead three more times for the rest of the stanza, with the Panthers actually snatching an eight point lead (43-35) before the Cougars sliced it to six (43-37) as the teams entered the locker room at the break.

Medgar Evers spent the opening 12 minutes of the second half staying within an arm's length of the Panthers, and the Cougars eventually tied the game at 66-all with 8:16 remaining thanks to a converted layup by Simmons. Later, with 5:23 remaining, the Cougars would take their first lead since there was 4:07 remaining in the first half when Sinera would convert on a layup to put his team ahead 77-75. The Cougars continued to build their edge, eventually catapulting ahead by nine (88-79) with 2:02 remaining.

It appeared as if the Cougars were on their way to heading into the Thanksgiving holiday with an upset victory in their pockets, but the Panthers had other plans. Cummings nailed a trifecta with 1:51 left to make it an 88-82 game in favor of Medgar. Cummings would add another point 10 seconds later by converting on a technical foul shot. Then, with 49 ticks left, Jordan Johnson-Rader would convert on a layup, making it 88-85 Cougars, and prompting Medgar Evers to use a timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Sinera would draw a foul, but would proceed to misfire on a pair of freebees, with Omar Bassiouni grabbing the rebounding and swinging the ball to Evans Jr. A foul was then committed, and Evans Jr. sunk both of his charity stripe shots, making it 90-85 Cougars with 38 seconds left.

Old Westbury's Wingate would drain a three-point basket to slice his team's deficit to two (90-88) with 24 seconds remaining. On the ensuing inbounds play, Bassiouni was fouled. He would go to the line, where he would misfire on both shots. On the Panthers' possession, Johnson-Rader would rebound a missed layup by Cummings and sink a layup of his own, knotting the game at 90 with 12 seconds left. Following a Cougars timeout, Evans Jr. would let the clock wind down before charging into the paint and attempting a game-winning shot. The ball went in, but the officials deemed it a charge, Evans Jr.'s fifth foul, keeping the game tied with 0.3 seconds left. Old Westbury wouldn't get a shot off on its possession, sending the early-season classic to overtime.

In the extra session, the Panthers built a 98-93 edge with 2:51 left. Simmons nailed a jumper with 2:03 remaining to make it a three point Old Westbury lead. Medgar Evers, however, wouldn't score again after that, missing its final two shots down the stretch while committing a turnover, as the Panthers advanced for an improbable comeback victory.

Incredibly, the teams shot an identical 42.9 percent from the floor for the evening, with the Panthers converting on 36 of their 84 shot attempts, and the Cougars 33 of 77. Medgar Evers held the slightest of edges in the rebounding department, snatching 50 caroms to the opposition's 48. SUNY Old Westbury narrowly led in almost every other category, however. The Panthers registered 24 assists compared to 20 for the Cougars, while also collecting 12 steals to Medgar's eight. SUNY Old Westbury committed 16 miscues compared to 20 Cougars mistakes. Both teams struggled at the line, though the Panthers (15-22 FT, 68.2 percent) were more efficient. Medgar misfired on 13 freebees for the evening (16-29, 55.2 percent).

The Cougars will look to bounce back on Saturday afternoon, as Medgar stays in Brooklyn but travels to the Hill Center to face the Bears of St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn. Start-time for the contest is scheduled for 1:00pm, and links to live video and stats are available by navigating to Medgar's 2021-2022 men's basketball page on MECAthletics.com.
 
Print Friendly Version