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NEW YORK, NY— The York College men’s basketball team came up short in its quest for the conference championship, losing to rival Brooklyn College 79-68 in the finals of the 2010 CUNYAC/ Con Edison Men’s Basketball Championship.
Brooklyn College (22-6), back-to-back CUNYAC champions, now receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. York (21-7) will have to wait to see if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. If they do not receive a bid, the Cardinals will play in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament which takes place next weekend. Both tournament pairings will be announced on Monday.
It was the third meeting between the two teams. The Cardinals got the best of the Bulldogs in the first two meetings, winning both match-ups by one point, but it was Brooklyn College who used a late first-half run to propel them to the championship.
The Cardinals came out on fire to start the game, jumping out to a 16-4 lead after just five minutes of play. A three-pointer by Nicholas Hamilton-Lopez and a dunk by Marcel Esonwune capped off the run with 14:47 to play in the first half. York would extend its lead to 15 points (28-13) after another three-pointer by Hamilton-Lopez with 9:31 to play in the half.
However, just like in the semi-finals, the Cardinals got into early foul trouble. Esonwune and Hamilton-Lopez each picked up a pair of first-half fouls. The Bulldogs were able to capitalize and cut into the Cardinals lead. A three-pointer by All-American Richard Jean-Baptiste with 2:20 play in the half made the score 37-34 in favor of the Cardinals. With just under a minute to play, York still held a four point lead (42-38) but the Bulldogs finished the half strong. A steal by Jean-Baptiste led to an Amil John lay-up with eight seconds remaining and gave Brooklyn a 43-42 lead going into halftime. It was their first lead since the opening basket of the game.
In the second half, the Bulldogs extended their lead to 59-52 after an Amil John lay-up with 12:32 to play. However, just prior to the bucket Jean-Baptiste picked up his fourth foul and was forced to exit the game. York had its own foul trouble to deal with, however, as Elijah Evelyn and Ryan Exum each picked up their fourth foul midway through the second half.
The Bulldogs managed to maintain their lead in Jean-Baptiste’s absence and led 67-60 when Baptiste checked back into the game. York cut the lead to 71-68 after a three-point play by Shamir Wilkinson with 4:18 to play. However, the Cardinals could get no closer, as the Bulldogs scored seven unanswered points to take a 78-68 advantage. A pair of free throws and lay-up by Jean-Baptiste, and a three-point play by Daniel Nisbet on consecutive possessions iced the game for the Bulldogs.
For York, Hamilton-Lopez led the team with 23 points, while Shamir Wilkinson netted 16 points. Elijah Evelyn paced the Cardinals with 15 points. The Bulldogs did a nice job of containing CUNYAC Player of the Year, Marcel Esonwune, who finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Esonwune and Hamilton-Lopez were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Jean-Baptiste led Brooklyn with 30 points and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Amil John paced the Bulldogs with 18 points.