BOX SCORE

New York, N.Y. – Earlier this evening, the men's basketball team played host to the Cougars of Medgar Evers College in front of the homecoming crowd. After falling behind by 11 early on, the Hawks clawed their way back into the game and tied it in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime. A last second triple by Taulant Ibraj put the nail in the coffin as the Hawks escaped with a 55-53 victory. With the win, the Hawks move to 4-5, 1-2 CUNYAC while the Cougars' record now stands at 4-4, 2-1 CUNYAC.
 
The Hawks got off to a slow start, feeling the early effects of an 11-0 Medgar Evers run which was started and capped by Jovan Deare. After being held scoreless through the initial 5:17, Lester Anim broke the silence with a made jumper. The basket gave the Purple and Gold the lift they needed to close the gap and at 6:13, pulled even with the Cougars at 15 a piece thanks to a Brian Kruger layup.
 
Both teams went cold in the remaining six minutes; Medgar Evers managed just five points while the Hawks, courtesy of a Lorenzo Brown steal with just seconds to go, allowed Taulant Ibraj to net the easy layup to make it a 20-19 affair in favor of the visitors.
 
Opening up the second half, Robert Borusiewicz connected on a first possession layup to give the Hawks their first lead of the game.  Medgar Ever's Valin Williams and Kayode Prime drained back to back baskets to allow their team to retake the lead.
 
The ensuing five minutes featured three lead changes with either team going ahead by more than four points.  Passing the half way mark of the second act, Deare gave the visitors an eight point advantage on two straight baskets to compliment his two made free throws. Hunter struggled to find the bottom of the net, missing four straight attempts from the field.
 
Down by eight, Kruger put a temporary stop to the bleeding by sinking his two attempts from the charity stripe to pull the Hawks within six. With just under four minutes remaining, Borusiewicz converts on a big and-one and sinks the free throw to make it a three point affair at 39-36.
 
Kruger nailed a 14 foot jumper with 44 seconds left to pull even with the visitors at 44 apiece. Mark Hudson responded with an athletic layup just 18 seconds to make it a one possession game. Lester Anim was sent to the line on a Winston Douglas foul and missed the first but sunk the second, making it a one point contest with 14.4 seconds left and the possession in the hands of the visitors.
 
With time running down, Mayell hustled down the court and drew the foul, resulting in two made free throws to pull even with their counterparts. On the final possession of regulation, Medgar Evers lost the ball and a half court shot by Mayell was off the mark to force overtime.
 
With 1:30 remaining in overtime, Medger held a two point advantage. Kippins made one of two from the line to cut the deficit to one. The battle at the free throw line continued with Mayell tying the game at 52 after making one of two tries.
 
Ibraj drained a deep triple to put the Hawks up 53-52 with just under 10 seconds left. A last second attempt by Prime was off the mark resulting in the Hawk victory.
 
Ibraj and Anim each led the Hawks with 11 points while Deare of Medger Evers posted a game high of 20 points.
 
The men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, December 11 when they travel across the city to take on the Bloodhounds of John Jay College at 7pm.