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52
Medgar Evers ME 0-1,0-0 CUNYAC
89
Winner Nazareth Naz 1-0,0-0 Empire 8
Medgar Evers ME
0-1,0-0 CUNYAC
52
Final
89
Nazareth Naz
1-0,0-0 Empire 8
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Medgar Evers ME 24 28 52
Nazareth Naz 44 45 89
63
Medgar Evers ME 0-2,0-0 CUNYAC
87
Winner Clarkson CLK 1-1,0-0 Liberty League
Medgar Evers ME
0-2,0-0 CUNYAC
63
Final
87
Clarkson CLK
1-1,0-0 Liberty League
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Medgar Evers ME 23 40 63
Clarkson CLK 52 35 87

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's basketball opens up 2025-2026 campaign with losses to Nazareth, Clarkson in Mike Daley Memorial Tournament

The Medgar Evers College men's basketball team began its 2025-2026 season this weekend, competing in the Mike Daley Memorial Tournament, hosted by Nazareth University. Unfortunately for the Cougars, they were unable to register a victory in the two contests, falling to host Nazareth on Friday evening by a score of 89-52, before getting defeated by Clarkson University 87-63 the following day in the consolation tilt. The games took place at the Kidera Gymnasium in Rochester, NY. With this weekend's output, Medgar Evers is 0-2 to begin the year.

Nazareth University 89, Medgar Evers College 52

Despite the loss for the Cougars, veteran sharpshooter Michael Perez knocked down four trifectas, finishing with a team-high 16 points to go along with four rebounds and a pair of assists. Omari Hinds added 11 points and five boards, and veterans Joash Beaton and Nicholas Bocharov netted eight and seven points, respectively.

Jaylen Savage paced the hosts in their victory, as he scored a game-high 18 points while snatching five rebounds, swiping a pair of steals, and adding two assists. Merritt Holly nearly registered a double-double, as he scored 16 points while grabbing nine rebounds, and Will Burnett contributed 14 points on the night. Finally, it was Luke Insley and Dylan Pohl tying for the game-high of eight assists.

Nazareth raced out to an early 9-3 lead less than four minutes into the contest as Holly scored the opening five points, and Savage added consecutive layups for the hosts. Five points by Hinds helped the Cougars inch to within three at 11-8, but Savage converted twice in the lane and Holly finished a pair of second-chance baskets to put the Golden Flyers ahead 19-11.

The hosts broke the game open midway through the first half with a 15-0 run over a span of four minutes. During that run, Savage contributed eight points while Insley converted on four attempts from the line, and Solomon McFarlane nailed a trifecta to make it 36-14 Golden Flyers. Nazareth would maintain that aforementioned commanding lead for the most part, eventually taking a 20-point cushion (44-24) into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, Holly converted a three-point play to extend Nazareth's advantage to 48-28. Later in the half, with the Golden Flyers up 66-41, Nazareth went on a 9-0 run, capped by consecutive triples by Will Burnett, to go up 75-41 with 7:45 remaining. Medgar Evers was only able to produce 11 points for the remainder of the season-opener, with the Golden Flyers eventually going on to win the contest by 37.

The Golden Flyers shot 53.1 percent from the floor for the evening (34-63), while the Cougars earned a 34.6 percent conversion rate (18-52). Nazareth held a 47-23 edge on the glass, while also tallying eight steals to Medgar Evers' two. The hosts held a 21-9 advantage in assists, while also committing just seven miscues compared to 17 for the Cougars.

Clarkson University 87, Medgar Evers College 63

In the Cougars' loss to the Golden Knights, veteran Joash Beaton played very well, tying for the game-high of 19 points (7-13 FG, 3-4 FT) while collecting three rebounds and tying for the team-high of three steals. Perez connected on all five of his free throw attempts to finalize his day with 12 points, a pair of rebounds, and two steals, and Ahmed Toure added seven points and five boards in 21 minutes of action.

Nate Abernethy paced Clarkson University, as he tied for the game-high of 19 points while snatching four rebounds and dishing a pair of assists. Braeden Burns connected on all eight of his shot attempts to finish with 18 points, three rebounds, three dimes, and two steals, and Steve DeRegis and Ben Phillips finalized their evenings with nine points apiece.

The Golden Knights held an early 11-point lead five minutes into the contest (13-4). Toure would break a four minute scoring drought for the Cougars with an offensive rebound put-back to slice Clarkson's advantage back to double digits, but the Golden Knights responded with DeRegis nailing a pair of trifectas to put Clarkson ahead 19-4, prompting Medgar Evers to take their second timeout of the half at 14:04. 

Clarkson's advantage ballooned to 16 with 10:45 left when Abernethy converted on a long three-point basket, as the Clarkson lead increased to 20 points with 9:15 remaining in the opening session. Following a Medgar Evers timeout, two straight layups courtesy of Burns, and six more points from the Golden Knights made it 43-13. Trevonne Tcha was able to break the four minute scoring drought for the Cougars with just under six minutes remaining in the half.

The Cougars eventually trailed by 33 (50-17), but they tried to claw back into the contest, as Beaton netted six-straight points with a little over two minutes left in the half to pull Medgar Evers to within 27 (50-23) with 70 seconds remaining until halftime. A Toscano hoop with 49 seconds on the clock would cap the scoring for the session, with the Golden Flyers taking a 52-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Medgar Evers began to slice into Clarkson's advantage in the early stages of the second half as a basketball by Toure at 16:36 cut the Knight lead to 21. Burns responded with two buckets on the ensuing Clarkson possessions, re-establishing a 62-37 advantage. 

Later, with the Cougars trailing 70-46 with 8:43 remaining, a converted triple by Hinds drew the Cougars within (21), but Clarkson responded with a 6-0 run over a span of 2:04 as  Phillips, Toscano, and Casey Montesano all added buckets to put the Golden Knights up 27, 76-49.

Medgar Evers closed out the game on a 9-2 run that featured converted triples by Zachary Bussey and Justin Rosario, and a bucket by Olamide Nafiu, but the Golden Knights ultimately would earn the consolation game victory, 87-63.

Clarkson would shoot a scorching 64 percent from the field for the afternoon, converting on 35 of their 55 attempts, including a 16-18 mark in the opening 20 minutes for attempts inside the arc. The Knights also controlled the glass, snatching 35 rebounds compared to the Cougars' 25. Medgar Evers led in steals (10-6) and points off turnovers (19-18). 

Next Up for the Cougars

Medgar Evers will return to action on Tuesday evening, as the Cougars will play their home opener against the University of Valley Forge. Start-time at the Cougars Cave is scheduled for 6:00pm.
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