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Final
89
Winner Medgar Evers MEDGAR 2-4,0-0 CUNYAC
86
St. Joseph's (Brkln) SJCBK 0-6,0-1 Skyline
Winner
Medgar Evers MEDGAR
2-4,0-0 CUNYAC
89
Final
86
St. Joseph's (Brkln) SJCBK
0-6,0-1 Skyline
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Medgar Evers MEDGAR 35 54 89
St. Joseph's (Brkln) SJCBK 37 49 86

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Cougars shoot 60 percent in second half, beat Bears

Box Score

The Medgar Evers men's basketball team picked up a much-needed victory on Saturday afternoon, holding off the Bears of St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn by a score of 89-86. The contest took place at the Hill Center in Brooklyn, NY. With the triumph, the Cougars improved to 2-5 on the 2021-2022 campaign, while the Bears, despite netting a season-high 86 points, stayed winless on the year, slipping to 0-6.

Dante Simmons played phenomenally for Medgar Evers, pouring in a team-high 25 points. He connected on 10 of his 16 attempts from the floor, including three for six from long range. He also snatched nine boards and added three assists and three steals. Mousa Sinera posted yet another double-double, as the standout registered 17 points while tying for the game-high of 17 boards. He also added three helpers and three steals. James Julien scored 17 points, and reigning CUNYAC Rookie of the Week Andre Evans Jr. scored 11 points while contributing three dimes and a pair of steals. Finally, it was Prince-Malachi Reid netting 10 points and adding a team-high six assists.

For the Bears, Chris Mikos played all 40 minutes and scored a game-high 27 points on 9-of-20 shooting. He narrowly missed registering a triple-double, as he collected eight boards, recorded a game-high eight assists, tallied two steals, and added a pair of swatted shots. Richie Simon netted 14 points while adding a game-high-tying 17 caroms. He also contributed four assists while swiping three steals. Finally, it was Evan Sirakis contributing 13 points, four boards, four assists, two steals, and a swatted shot.

St. Joseph's threatened to run away with the game early, racing out to an 11-3 advantage just five minutes into the non-conference clash. That eight-point edge would serve as the biggest lead either squad would hold throughout the opening session, but the Cougars dashed back with a 16-2 run (highlighted by Reid's eight points during the spurt) to grab a 19-13 lead with 11:07 left in the stanza. The pendulum then swung the Bears away when St. Joseph's put together 11 consecutive points to snatch a 24-19 edge. That 11-0 run was led by Chris Tracy's pair of converted jumpers from downtown. St. Joe's would eventually catapult back up by as many as seven (34-27) before holding a slight 37-35 advantage as the first half buzzer sounded.

James Julien connected on a trifecta nine seconds into the second session to give Medgar Evers a 38-37 lead, but four consecutive points by St. Joseph's (a Joe Sheehan layup and a pair of Simon freebees) put the Bears back up 41-38. The Cougars answered with a 12-4 run to take the lead for good, and Medgar Evers led by as many as eight on multiple occasions. Later, Medgar held an 87-80 edge with 30 seconds remaining before a final comeback attempted inched the Bears within a point, 87-86, with 4.1 ticks left. After sending the Cougars to the line in the double bonus, the Bears still had an opportunity to tie the game and send it to overtime. However, St. Joseph's was unable to get a shot off as Mikos' pass into the front court was intercepted by Sinera to seal the victory for Medgar Evers.

For the Cougars, the difference in the contest was their second half efficiency from the floor. After sinking just 33 percent of their shot attempts in the opening 20 minutes (11-33), Medgar Evers was on fire all throughout the second stanza, converting on 18 of its 30 attempts (60 percent). On the flip side, the Bears shot 40.8 percent on the afternoon (29-71). Remarkably, the Cougars not only won the game despite missing 15 free throws (19-34) and getting out-rebounded 51-37, but the team also lost veteran Keison McIntosh to a knee injury. The standout played only 16 minutes, and is currently undergoing evaluation. Head Coach Brian Nigro is hopeful that he will be ready for the CUNYAC opener on Friday evening.

Medgar Evers did win the turnover battle this evening, committing 21 miscues while forcing a whopping 27 Bears mistakes. The Cougars also registered 13 steals compared to nine for St. Joseph's, with perhaps the most important one being Sinera's swipe with time winding down in regulation.

The Cougars will now have five days off before returning to the hardwood on Friday evening, as the team will travel to Jamaica, Queens to face the Cardinals of York College in the first CUNYAC clash of the '21-22 season. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30pm.
 
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