Men's Basketball 1/18/2024 3:59:00 AM

Cougars relinquish early 11-point advantage, fall to Brooklyn College Bulldogs, 68-62

Box Score The Medgar Evers College men's basketball team suffered a frustrating defeat on Wednesday evening, falling to CUNYAC foe Brooklyn College by a score of 68-62. The contest took place at the Bulldogs' West Quad Gymnasium on Bedford Avenue. With the defeat, the Cougars slipped to 2-15 on the 2023-2024 campaign (0-6 CUNYAC), while Brooklyn improved to 4-13 (4-2 CUNYAC).

Despite the loss for the Cougars, Joshua Jean Pierre returned from injury and put together an efficient game, connecting on five of his eight attempts from the floor, as well as six of his seven freebees, to finish with 16 points, which tied for the team-high. Additionally, his 12 rebounds were a game high. Freshman Derek Wicker (5-8 FG, 4-5 FT) tied Jean Pierre for the team-high of 16 points while also snatching six rebounds, and Nicholas Guillen drained five of his 11 attempts from the floor to finish with 13 points and four boards. Michael Perez drained three triples to finish with nine points, and Andre Evans Jr. contributed seven points and a game-high seven assists. With those seven assists, Evans Jr. moved into second place on Medgar Evers' all-time list, surpassing former Cougar Steven Chase. Evans Jr., now in his third year with the squad, currently has 233 career assists, 70 behind the all-time leader Kallai Sharpe, who played on Medgar Evers from 2006-2010.

Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Malik Dale (8-12 FG), as he led all players with 23 points. He also collected three boards, as well. Zuric Harvey nailed three shots from downtown to finish with 11 points, and Stephon McGill added 10 points while tying for the team-high of six rebounds.

Brooklyn College needed just 54 seconds to take an early 5-0 advantage, as Dale netted consecutive baskets from the outset, knocking down a jumper 15 ticks in, and draining a triple 39 seconds after that. Guillen answered with a trifecta for the Cougars, kickstarting a 13-0 Medgar Evers run over a span of 6:11, as the visitors catapulted ahead by eight (13-5). The Cougars ballooned that lead to 11, 20-9, before the Bulldogs ran off 11 straight points to deadlock the CUNYAC clash at 20 apiece.

For the remainder of the opening session, neither squad took more than a five-point advantage, with Medgar Evers holding on to a 35-32 advantage as the teams headed into the locker room at break.

With 10:54 remaining in the game, the Cougars held a 49-42 lead, but Brooklyn put together a 9-0 run to snatch a 51-49 advantage. Dale accounted for seven of the Bulldogs' nine points during that spurt. Medgar Evers responded by outscoring the hosts 9-3 over the ensuing 3:36 to take a 58-54 lead with 4:08 remaining in the contest.

Unfortunately for the Cougars, Brooklyn College would stage a late comeback, outscoring Medgar Evers 14-4 the rest of the way. The Cougars connected on just one of their final six shot attempts inside the final four minutes, while also committing a pair of turnovers. On the flip side, the Bulldogs were very efficient in the latter stages, connecting on three of their five attempts from the hardwood (60 percent).

Both teams shot well from the floor for the evening, with Medgar Evers earning a conversion rate of 45.7 percent (21-46), and the Bulldogs connecting on 22 of their 54 attempts from the floor (40.7 percent). The Cougars held a slim 35-34 edge on the glass, but the Bulldogs tallied nine steals compared to five for the visitors. Brooklyn College also protected the ball better, committing just 13 miscues, while Medgar Evers finished with 20.

The Cougars will look to bounce back on Friday evening, as Medgar Evers will welcome the Bloodhounds of John Jay College to the Cougars Cave. Start time for that contest is scheduled for 8:00pm.

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