Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
skalfjas;lkdjaskldjasdlksajd;kls
66
CCNY CCNY 6-17, 5-7 CUNY
73
Winner Medgar Evers MEDGAR 1-22, 1-11 CUNY
CCNY CCNY
6-17, 5-7 CUNY
66
Final
73
Medgar Evers MEDGAR
1-22, 1-11 CUNY
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
CCNY CCNY 20 37 9 66
Medgar Evers MEDGAR 21 36 16 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Cougars stymie CCNY Beavers in overtime on senior night, 73-66, as Head Coach Kelvin Bigelow earns first victory

On an evening where things couldn't have gone better for the Medgar Evers men's basketball team, the squad honored five seniors, then went out and rallied from a nine-point second half deficit to defeat the Beavers of CCNY by a score of 73-66 in overtime. The game took place at the Cougars Cave in Brooklyn, NY. Medgar Evers' triumph was the first for Head Coach Kelvin Bigelow since he took the position this past summer. Medgar Evers improved to 1-22 with the win (1-11 CUNYAC), while the Beavers dropped to 6-17 (5-7 CUNYAC).

Prior to the action, the Medgar Evers Department of Athletics took a few moments to honor seniors Boubacar Mbaye, Ahmed Toure, Joash Beaton, Nicholas Bocharov, and Michael Perez, in a special ceremony. Assistant coach Brad Oringer spoke glowingly about each standout's accomplishments both on the court and in the classroom. Director of Athletics Chetara Murphy and Head Coach Kelvin Bigelow presented each of the four aforementioned seniors with commemorative action shot posters in a show of appreciation of their dedication to the program during their tenures at the institution. The student-athletes posed for photos with their teammates, family members, and friends, before saluting the crowd at the Cougars Cave in what was an emotional scene.

Beaton and Perez led the offensive charge for the hosts all evening, as the standouts tied for the game-high of 26 points. Beaton connected on five triples, and seven of his eight free throw attempts. He also snatched seven rebounds, led all players with four blocked shots, dished two assists, and swiped two steals. Perez nailed four trifectas while leading all Cougars with three steals, and adding a pair of boards. Bocharov hit a pair of shots from long range to finish with 10 points, seven rebounds, and two steals, and Toure's 14 rebounds were a team-high, while his six assists led all players.

Despite the loss for the Beavers, Chris Popotte registered a double-double with a team-high 18 points to go along with 12 rebounds. He also dished three assists and swatted a pair of shots. Camryn Reyes also notched a double-double, as he scored 11 points, collected a game-high 15 boards, and dished three assists, and Kayson Dinkins and Michael Bowman scored nine and eight points, respectively.

The hosts trailed 7-0 and 9-1 in the early stages of the contest, but an 8-0 Cougas run over a span of 4:19 leveled the contest at nine apiece. That aforementioned run featured a triple from Bocharov, and five points from Perez. A three-point basket by CCNY's David Leye gave the Beavers the lead back, and the visitors eventually went up by five (17-12) with 7:41 remaining in the half, before the hosts finished the half on a 9-3 run to take a 21-20 edge into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, the Cougars and Beavers exchanged the lead three times in the opening 4:09 of the session, with the final pendulum swing during that span coming when Popotte nailed a pair of free throws to put CCNY ahead, 28-26 with 15:51 to play. The Beavers would eventually take their biggest lead of the game, a nine-point advantage (49-40), following Popotte's converted layup with 6:44 to go. Medgar Evers, however, refused to go quietly, turning up the voltage at that juncture of the contest to make a thrilling run.

The Cougars outscored the Beavers 15-8 over the next 5:34 to inch to within two (57-55). Beaton scored nine points during that run, connecting on three shots from downtown, while Perez added four points, and Trevonne Tcha contributed a bucket. After an empty possession for CCNY, Perez misfired on a potential go-ahead three, but Tcha snatched the board and fed the ball over to Perez again. The senior then drove the lane, into traffic, and buried a layup to tie the game at 57-all with 3.6 seconds remaining.

Following a CCNY timeout, Popotte dribbled the ball into the front court looking to draw contact, but the strategy backfired as he ended up traveling with the basketball with 0.7 to go. After Medgar Evers called a timeout, Perez in-bounded the ball from about 52 feet away from the basket, but ended up throwing the ball into the ceiling while trying to execute a lead pass, resulting to a Cougars turnover. The Beavers then had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but CCNY wasn't able to generate a quality inbound pass, as Toure knocked it away, sending the game to overtime.

In the extra five minute session, the Cougars never trailed. With the game knotted at 59 apiece with just under 3:00 to go, Bocharov drained a triple to put the Cougars ahead 62-59. Medgar Evers later led 64-59, before a converted trifecta by Reyes inched the visitors to within two (64-62) with 2:01 left. From there, though, the Cougars finished the game by outscoring the Beavers 9-4, allowing just one CCNY field goal in the final two minutes.

Medgar Evers won the game despite shooting just 30 percent from the floor (21-70) and missing 23 free throws (20-43, 46.5 percent). The Beavers didn't fare much better, either, as CCNY connected on just 22 of 59 shots from the floor (37.3 percent) while misfiring on 17 freebees (19-36, 52.8 percent). CCNY held a 59-49 edge on the glass, but the Cougars held edges in assists (14-13), steals (11-9), and blocked shots (6-4). The hosts also took care of the ball much better, committing 12 miscues, while CCNY had 23.

The Cougars will look to make it two in a row on Friday evening, as Medgar Evers will travel to the Hunter Sportsplex to battle Hawks in another CUNYAC game. Start-time is scheduled for 7:00pm.
Print Friendly Version