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MBBGuillen
97
Winner Castleton University CU 4-6
65
Medgar Evers Cougars MEDGAR 2-9
Winner
Castleton University CU
4-6
97
Final
65
Medgar Evers Cougars MEDGAR
2-9
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Castleton University CU 53 44 97
Medgar Evers Cougars MEDGAR 30 35 65
88
Winner Mount Aloysius MTALOY 2-8
83
Medgar Evers Cougars MEDGAR 2-9
Winner
Mount Aloysius MTALOY
2-8
88
Final
83
Medgar Evers Cougars MEDGAR
2-9
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Mount Aloysius MTALOY 46 42 88
Medgar Evers Cougars MEDGAR 36 47 83

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Cougars drop pair of contests in '23-'24 Dr. Carol V. Decosta / Go 4 the Goal Tournament

The Medgar Evers College men's basketball team dropped a pair of games in the 2023-2024 Dr. Carol V. Decosta / Go 4 the Goal Tournament this past weekend, falling to the Spartans of Castleton University by a score of 97-65 on Friday, before turning around a day later and suffering an 88-83 defeat to the Mount Aloysius Mounties in the consolation game. With that output, the Cougars dipped to 2-10 on the 2023-2024 campaign.

SUNY Purchase won the tournament, picking up an 88-85 victory over Mount Aloysius on Friday evening, before turning around and picking up a dominating 74-52 win over Castleton University in Saturday's championship game.

In Friday's loss against Castleton University, the Cougars were paced by freshman standout Nicholas Guillen, as he scored a team-high 20 points to go along with three assists, two rebounds, and a pair of steals. Veteran Joshua Jean Pierre finished with nine points while tying for the game high of eight rebounds, and Jackson Bartley and Andre Evans Jr. finished with eight points apiece.

The Spartans' Scott Lampron led all scorers with 30 points. He connected on 10 of his 15 shots for the evening, including four out of eight from downtown. Lampron also drained six of his seven foul shots. Joe Russell finished with 23 points, six boards, three dimes, and two steals, and Will Radcliff finished with 15 points, eight caroms, and six assists. Finally, it was Zach Thompson finalizing his night with eight points and a game-high seven assists.

The Cougars held a brief 3-2 lead in the early stages after Guillen drained a triple 80 seconds into the game. Medgar Evers later trailed just 14-10 with 15:28 remaining in the opening half, but it was all Castleton University after that. The Spartans used a 10-0 run over a span of 4:32 to open up a 24-10 advantage, and eventually built a lead as expansive as 25 points, before heading into the locker room with a commanding 53-30 edge.

Castleton University continued to pad its lead in the early stages of the second half, opening up the final stanza on a 12-2 run to catapult to a 65-31 advantage with 15:16 remaining. Lampron scored five points during that aforementioned spurt, with Russell contributing three.

The closest the Cougars would get in the Friday evening contest was 26 points down (68-42) following a converted layup by Jean Pierre with 13:04 left. Castleton University would outscore Medgar Evers 29-23 the rest of the way to account for the 32-point victory.

The Spartans connected on a whopping 53.8 percent of their attempts from the floor (35-65), while the Cougars earned a conversion rate of 36.5 percent (23-63). Castleton University dominated the glass, snatching 49 rebounds, while Medgar Evers pulled down 30, and Castleton dished 21 assists while the hosts had 11. Medgar Evers did win the turnover battle, committing 15 miscues while forcing 17.

In the Cougars' loss to the Mounties, three Medgar Evers players scored 16 points or more, including Jean Pierre, as he connected on seven of his nine attempts from the floor to finish with a team-high 19 points. His seven rebounds also led all Cougars, and he added three assists, as well. Guillen scored 16 points while tying for the team-high of four assists, snatching two boards, and adding two steals, and Evans Jr. finalized his afternoon with 16 points, four assists, four rebounds, and a game-high three steals.

Mount Aloysius' Will Hagwood led all scorers with 20 points (7-12 FG). Ronnie McLain added 16 points, three rebounds, three dimes, and a pair of steals. De'Von Haggans posted a double-double, scoring 14 points while snatching a game-high 13 rebounds. Octavius Hardy registered 13 points and seven rebounds. And finally, it was Reggie Priah notching a double-double, as he scored 12 points while grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing a game-high six assists.

Medgar Evers trailed 46-36 at the half, and 54-40 with 17:10 left, before going on an 11-0 run to pull to within three (54-51) with 14:52 remaining in the contest. That 11-0 spurt featured eight consecutive points by Evans Jr., and a converted triple by Guillen. The Cougars later trailed 60-56 before going on a 6-0 run to snatch a 62-60 edge with 10:39 left. That aforementioned 6-0 run featured consecutive buckets by Jean Pierre, and a driving layup by Jackson Bartley.

Following 3:19 of competitive basketball in which neither squad went up by more than two points, Mount Aloysius took a 67-64 advantage following a drained a free throw by McClain with 7:20 left. McClain connected on a triple 43 seconds later to put the visitors ahead 70-64, but five consecutive points by the Cougars, capped by a trifecta by Chris Edosomwan, brought Medgar to within one (70-69) with 5:54 to go.

Later, with 4:00 remaining and the Cougars trailing 75-69, Guillen would connect on a triple to pull the Cougars to within three points (75-72). Mount Aloysius would later go up by nine twice (83-74 and 86-77) before hanging on to win the game by five. The Mounties connected on nine of their 11 shots from the charity stripe down the stretch to solidify the victory.

Medgar Evers was very efficient shooting the basketball, connecting on 32 of its 69 attempts for the afternoon (46.4 percent). Mount Aloysius shot 40.9 percent, hitting on 27 of 66 shot attempts. The Mounties were excellent from the charity stripe, draining 25 of their 30 attempts (83.3 percent). Medgar Evers missed just one freebee, hitting on nine of 10 (90 percent). Mount Aloysius dominated the glass, snatching 48 boards while the hosts pulled down 31. The Mounties held a 21-14 edge in the assists column, but the Cougars swiped 10 steals compared to six for the visitors. Each team had 23 turnovers on the afternoon.

Following the conclusion of the weekend's games, the All-Tournament honorees were announced. SUNY Purchase's Chad Duke was named the Most Valuable Player, as he averaged 19.5 points and three rebounds over two days of action. Rashid Nikiema from the Panthers was also named to the All-Tournament squad, as he averaged 10 points, 6.5 rebounds, and two assists over a two-game span. The Cougars' Nicholas Guillen was an All-Tournament performer with two-game averages of 18 points and 3.5 assists. Others honored were Castleton's Joe Russell, as he averaged 20 points, 6.5 rebounds, and three assists over the weekend, and finally, Mount Aloysius' De'Von Haggans was honored for averaging 22.5 points and 10.5 rebounds during the tourney.

The Cougars will look to get back on track on Wednesday evening, as Medgar Evers will welcome Hunter College to the Cougars Cave for a CUNYAC clash. Start-time for the contest is scheduled for 8:00pm.
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