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Men's Basketball 2/3/2026 11:39:00 PM

Cougars relinquish 12-point lead in final 3:16 before falling to Bulldogs, 74-61 in overtime, in CUNYAC action

Box Score The Medgar Evers College men's basketball team suffered another heartbreaking defeat to the Bulldogs of Brooklyn College, squandering a 10-point lead with 3:05 remaining and losing the game by a score of 74-61 in overtime. With the defeat, the Cougars dipped to a mark of 0-21 on the 2025-2026 campaign (0-10 CUNYAC), while the Bulldogs improved to a mark of 8-12 (6-4 CUNYAC).

Despite the defeat for the Cougars, Isaiah Grant connected on six of his nine shot attempts, finishing with a team-high 17 points to go along with two rebounds and a pair of assists. Boubacar Mbaye (7-14 FG) added 15 points, four boards, two assists, and two steals, and Nicholas Bocharov contributed nine points, five assists, and two steals. Joash Beaton finished his evening with eight points, five assists, three boards, and two steals, and Ahmed Toure posted a game-high 16 rebounds, and team-highs of six assists and three steals.

In the victory for the Bulldogs, Joe Charles scored a game-high 21 points (6-7 FT) to go along with eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Abdoulaye Gueye posted a double-double with 13 points, a team-high 14 rebounds, and two steals, and Thomas Hall finalized his evening with 11 points, four rebounds, and a pair of steals. Finally, it was D'aze Hunter nearly registering a double-double, as he registered nine points, a game-high eigth assists, six rebounds, and two steals.

The Bulldogs raced out to an early 6-0 advantage in the opening 3:40 of play, courtesy of a pair of Jordany Martinez buckets, as well as a hoop from Herbert Gary, who hit the game-winning layup against the Cougars back on January 9 at Medgar Evers. Brooklyn maintained its lead for a majority of the first half, leading 18-13 with 6:59 remaining in the session.

The Cougars then spent the ensuing 5:11 going on an 11-2 run to catapult ahead by a score of 24-20 with 1:48 left on the first half clock. During that aforementioned spurt, Grant scored five points, Michael Perez contributed four, and Toure drained a bucket. Brooklyn's Martinez would convert on a layup with 46 left to slice Medgar's advantage to two points (24-22), and that would be the score as the buzzer sounded on the opening half.

Medgar Evers held the lead for 18:47 of the 20 minutes play in the second session. The Cougars held six-point advantages of 28-22 and 33-27, but an 8-0 run by the Bulldogs momentarily gave the hosts the lead back, 35-33, with 11:50 to go. 19 seconds later, a converted layup by Mbaye tied the game at 35-all, and with 10:47 remaining, Grant split a pair of freebees to put the Cougars back ahead, 36-35.

Following Grant's drained free throw, the Cougars score eight of the game's ensuing nine points (courtesy of consecutive trifectas by Bocharov, and a basket from Mbaye) to take a 44-36 advantage. Later in the stanza, a converted jumper by Grant gave the visitors their biggest lead of the night, a 12-point cushion (56-44), with 3:16 to go. From there, however, it would all fall apart for the Cougars.

Over the next 2:14 of play, Brooklyn would go on a 10-2 run to slice Medgar Evers' advantage to four (58-54) with 1:02 left. Gueye netted four points for Brooklyn during that push, with Hunter adding three, Hall contributing two, and Martinez splitting a pair of free throws. In what was a key possession for the Cougars inside the final 45 seconds, Mbaye missed a layup. The ball was rebounded by Gueye, and, after a missed three-point attempt from Charles, Altin Kukaj collected the rebound and fed a driving Hall, who buried a layup to slice the Cougars' lead to two, 58-56.

On the Cougars' next possession, Beaton would turn the ball over, with Hall coming up with a clutch steal. Hall would then drive the length of the court and lay the ball home, tying the contest at 58-all with 10 seconds to play. The Cougars would have one final shot to secure a victory in regulation, but Beaton's jumper was off the mark in the waning seconds, sending the game to an extra five-minute session.

In the overtime period, Brooklyn College dominated play, outscoring Medgar Evers by a count of 16-3 to win the game by 13 (74-61). Charles scored the first five points of the additional stanza, netting eight points overall in the period. The hosts shot 75 percent from the floor (6-8) and 80 percent from the line (4-5) in OT, while the Cougars connected on just one shot (1-7, 14.29 percent) from the floor, while nailing just 20 percent of their free throws (1-5).

Brooklyn College dominated on the glass, snatching 57 rebounds on the evening compared to just 35 for the visitors. Medgar Evers lost the game despite holding advantages in assists (22-17) and steals (12-11). The teams swatted one shot apiece, and each squad committed 17 turnovers.

Medgar Evers will return to action on Friday evening, as the Cougars will return home to take on John Jay College in another CUNYAC clash. Start-time at the Cougars Cave is scheduled for 7:00pm.

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