2002 CUNY / Con Edison Basketball Championships - Men's Quarterfinals at Hunter College

Staten Island Beats CCNY in 2001 Finals Rematch

New York, NY -- The quarterfinal nightcap at the 37th CUNY / Con Edison Men's Basketball Championship Tournament was a rematch of last year's title game. Reversing that result, the College of Staten Island won 75-61 over City College of New York at the Hunter College Sportsplex in Manhattan.

The Dolphins, seemingly very eager to avenge last winter's upset loss, jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back. A 15-6 run midway through the first half by the Dolphins opened up a 37-18 lead with Paul and Nesbitt leading the charge. CCNY never challenged seriously, although they got within twelve at 48-36 on a Luis Munoz three-pointer.

Coach Tony Petosa' troops regained their composure after a time-out with Nesbitt getting two straight buckets and the floodgates opened from there as CSI pushed the lead to 64-44 with 7:36 remaining in the contest.

"When we play this kind of defense it always equals a win," said CUNY All-Star Kassim Nesbitt. "Our defense always generates our offense and that's what it did for me tonight."

Nesbitt tallied a game-high 27 points and five assists, while David Paul added 17 and Champ Albano chipping in with 15. The Dolphins also pushed their record to 20-6, reaching the 20-win plateau since 1997. The Beavers wrapped up their season at 10-16 as senior Aki Trent led them with 18 points. Obinna Efobi added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

"We just played solid defense, challenging all their shots and not giving them any easy looks," said CUNY Co-Coach of the Year Tony Petosa. "I think the two best teams in our bracket advanced to the semis, with both teams playing together as a team and know each other very well," Petosa said of his semifinal opponent Baruch.

Paul also tied the CSI school scoring mark of 1,635 points held by his current coach Petosa, which will surely fall on Tuesday in the CUNY semifinals when the #1 Dolphins face #5 Baruch in the nightcap at 7:30 pm. #2 Medgar Evers and #6 York will open up the semifinal round at 5:30 pm.

York College Cardinals Pull Off First Upset Of The CUNY/Con Edison Basketball Championships

New York, NY -- Sixth-seeded York College pulled off the first upset of the 37th CUNY/Con Edison Basketball Championships held today at the Hunter College Sportsplex with a 71-55 win over #3 seed Lehman College.

Both teams started the games strong, trading baskets in the opening minutes. Lehman's Luis Chavez hit a three-pointer to give the Lightning a 12-7 lead with 14:04 to go. York's Quincy Oudkerk hit back-to-back baskets to pull within one, before teammate Shawn Simms tickled the twines to give York a one-point lead.

After trading baskets, the Lightning struck with a 10-1 run over the next 6 minutes to take command of the game. Edgar Lugo had 7 of those 10 points as Lehman led by ten, 27-17.

York added two free throws before Lugo scored the next 5 points on two baskets as Lehman showed why they are the third-seed in the tournament. Oudkerk netted a shot with 47 seconds remaining to make the score 32-21 at the break.

York struggled in the first half, making only eight baskets while committing 19 turnovers. By contrast, Lehman made 14 baskets with only eight turnovers.

But things changed after the intermission. York College head coach Ronald St. John knew what his Cardinals needed. "If we kept our turnovers down in the second half, it would allow us get back in to the game and not allow Lehman to stretch their lead out."

York came out and scored the first six points of the half, including four points from Oudkerk. Lehman's Amil Hector stopped the scoring drought for Lehman, hitting a layup at the 14:28 mark for the Lightning's first points of the half.

York's Antoine Green and Roberto Tapia then struck before Lehman countered with a three-point field goal by Lugo. York then scored the next three baskets to take the lead 39-37 at the 7:54 mark. Lehman's Miguel Jorge countered with his own three-pointer to take what would be Lehman's last lead of the game. Tapia answered with his own three-pointer as the Cardinals capped an 11-3 run.

Tapia knew his team was playing strong, and that he needed to lead them, "I realized that I needed to step up on my defense and come off of screens to get my shots."

York built their lead to five with 5:16 to go on a field goal by Dwayne Uriri. Lehman would cut that lead to as few as two points before Tapia hit another three pointer to raise the lead back to five points.

York would hit 15 of 17 free throw attempts in the last 3:25 to seal the victory. Oudkerk would connect on seven-of-eight during that span.

During the second half, Lehman made only seven field goals, three of which came from behind the arc. York outscored Lehman 50-23 in the second stanza.

York was led by Tapia's team-high 16 points. Simms added 12 and Uriri 11. On the boards, York out-rebounded Lehman 48-33. Oudkerk led the Cardinals with eight caroms, while Uriri and Jason Daniel added six apiece.

For Lehman, Lugo connected on seven field goals, including three three-pointers and one free throw for a game-high 18 points. Hector added 11 points and three assists.

Baruch Statesmen Knock Off John Jay Bloodhounds as Pento Ties Career High With 24

New York, NY -- Fifth-seeded Baruch College defeated fourth-seeded John Jay College 80-64 in first round action of the 37th Con Edison / CUNY Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.

Both teams took their time getting into the flow of the game, as John Jay's Pablo Palma hit the game's first field goal with 17:44 remaining in the first period for a 3-0 lead. The teams traded baskets as John Jay led 12-8 with 12:47 to go when the scoreboards lost power and the game was disrupted.

Thirty-two minutes later, the contest resumed with secondary scoreboards in service. Ernie Capello made the first basket after the disruption to cut the lead to 12-10 before John Jay's Asher Matthews hit back-to-back baskets to extend the lead.

Later in the half, Baruch went on a 12-0 run over a two-and-a-half-minute span. Lou Pento had nine points during the run as the Statesmen 36-28 lead. Baruch would take a 42-30 lead into halftime.

The Statesmen began the second half on an 11-2 run, sparked by strong play from John Alesi, who hit two baskets during that stretch. Baruch suddenly found itself on top 53-32 with 16:45 remaining in the game.

But John Jay would not go away. The Bloodhounds responded with a 9-2 run of their own. Seven of those points came from Leland Norris, who transferred this season from Iona College. The lead was 14 points at 57-43.

Joe Longobardi then had an unconventional four-point play to swell the lead back to 18. From there it was off to the races. After a John Jay basket, Baruch rattled off eight straight points to open the lead to 69-45, sparked by Longobardi.

A pair of free throws by Pento gave Baruch its largest lead of the game at 75-50. But there was plenty of time remaining with 6:10 to go. Accordingly, John Jay hit the next five baskets to cut the lead to 75-60, and suddenly there was a ball game again.

But it was not meant to be, as the Statesmen emerged victorious 80-64. Leading the way for Baruch was Pento who tied his career high with 24 points and also grabbed 16 rebounds. He shot .867 (8-9) from the field and .800 (8-10) from the free throw line in addition to distributing a quintet of assists.

"He's both our spiritual and basketball leader and we're glad to have him for at least one more game," Baruch head coach Ray Rankis said of his power forward and sometime primary ballhandler. "We want to ride him; he's our best player and we would rather have a forward cover him instead of one of their quick guards."

One of Baruch's quick guards, Joe Longobardi, enjoyed an excellent game in his own right. He scored 23 points, nine of them on a trio of three-pointers, while shooting .750 (6-8) from the field and .857 (8-9) from the free throw line.

"We shot very well and went with a smaller line-up, spreading the court to neutralize John Jay's quickness," said Longobardo. "We also played solid defense and were very efficient on offense with everyone contributing."

Norris led the way for John Jay with 16 points off the bench. Edmund Scott added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bloodhounds (18-8).

Baruch (18-8) advances to the Tuesday, February 19 (7:30 p.m.) semifinal against either top-seeded College of Staten Island or eighth-seeded City College of New York.

Medgar Evers Edges Host Hunter 88-87 In Overtime

New York, NY -- The Medgar Evers Cougars opened the 37th annual CUNY/Con Edison Men's Basketball Tournament with a thrilling 88-87 overtime win over Hunter Hawks. The game was played at the Hunter College Sportsplex.

Both teams started the game slowly, trading turnovers in the opening minutes. But Raheim Lowery put the game's first points on the board at the 18:35 mark for the second-seeded Cougars. Both teams then found their stride, and traded baskets for the next three minutes, with the lead changing hands three times.

With the seventh-seeded Hawks leading 9-6, Medgar Evers got hot, going on a 10-1 run in a six-minute span. But Samir Pepic stopped that skid with a free throw and the next basket to cut the lead to 16-14. Medgar Evers came right back, and at the 8:27 mark Malik Copeland's three-pointer gave the Cougars their largest lead of the half at 21-14.

Hunter responded, and brought the game back to a 28-28 tie with 4:42 to go before the break. Then Medgar Evers got hot again, and outscored the Hawks 14-8 to take a 42-36 lead at intermission.

Hunter came out ready to play to open the second half, and scored the first five points on a basket from Lorcan Precious and a three-pointer by Pepic. Medgar Evers responded with a 14-4 run to take a commanding 58-49 lead with 12:45 to play.

Play went back-and-forth, with Hunter chipping away at the lead. Darryl Munroe hit back-to-back jumpers to knot the game at 7:49, as the pesky Hawks refused to give up.

Both teams then traded baskets, setting up some late-game heroics.

With the score 73-70 in MEC's favor, Copeland missed the front end of a one-and-one to put the ball back in the hands of the Hawks with 1:41 remaining. Munroe then found his way to the foul line and hit both shots, cutting the deficit to a single point. Copeland responded with a basket with 27.3 seconds remaining to increase the lead back to three. But Munroe answered with a three pointer from the top of the key to tie the game with 12.3 seconds remaining.

Not to be outdone, Copeland drove the right side of the lane and hit a floater with 2.6 seconds to seemingly win the game. "My teammates ran some really good screens for me, allowing me to make those shots," Copeland later said.

Hunter then tried to call a timeout, but with none left, were charged a technical foul. Copeland hit one of two free throws to take a 78-75 lead with 2.6 seconds remaining.

Hunter's Daniel Wuebben inbounded the ball under his own basket, and threw a full-court pass to Munroe. Munroe wheeled and dealt a pass to Precious who promptly drained a three-pointer from the corner as time expired to send the game into a bonus session.

"This was playoff basketball," stated Medgar Evers head coach Robert Holford, Jr. "Fortunately for us we did the right things down the stretch when we hit the shots."

The Cougars hit the first two baskets of the extra session and led 82-78 with 2:51 remaining. Wuebben scored Hunter's first points of overtime, then ripped down the ensuing defensive rebound. Munroe next hit a jumper to give Hunter the lead at 83-82. The teams traded free throws, and Copeland hit a tough shot to give Medgar Evers a slim one-point lead. Hunter responded, and got an easy layup from Volklan Eryaman on an assist from Precious to take a tenuous 87-86 lead with 31.5 seconds remaining.

But Copeland was not finished. He drained a two-pointer from the top of the key with 12.0 seconds remaining to take an 88-87 lead. "This was a big game," Copeland said. "I knew it would take some big shots for us to advance."

Hunter's last shot was off the mark, and Jebah Clayton ripped down the ensuing rebound to seal the game.

For the game, Raheim Lowery dominated for Medgar Evers with 15 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Clayton added 19 points and Copeland 17. Khalil Nixon had 16 points and 10 rebounds as well. In the extra session, Copeland had six points while Clayton added the other four.

Medgar Evars' head coach Holford, Jr. had nothing but praise for Malik Copeland when he said, "He's just a gifted player and when he is on, he is on. The only player who can beat Malik is Malik."

For Hunter, Precious had a game-high 25 points, six rebounds and five assists. Pepic and Munroe added 16 apiece, while Wuebben added 10 points and nine rebounds.

Medgar Evers advances to face the winner of the third-seeded Lehman College/sixth-seeded York College game on Tuesday, February 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the Hunter College Sportsplex.