York Edges Brooklyn, 68-67, in Conference Opener; Coach St. John Gets Win No. 299
Box Score
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Junior Marcel Esonwune scored 25 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to lead the York College men's basketball team to a narrow 68-67 victory over Brooklyn College in the CUNY Athletic Conference opener Tuesday evening. In addition, York Head Coach Ronald St. John earned his 299th career victory and is just one win away from a historic milestone.
Nicholas Hamilton-Lopez added 20 points and Elijah Evelyn netted ten as York improved to 2-4 and 1-0 in the CUNY Athletic Conference.
Richard Jean-Baptiste led Brooklyn (2-3, 0-1 CUNYAC) with 17 points and seven boards, while Amil John paced Brooklyn with 14 points.
The game was tight throughout with the score being tied on 12 different occasions. The Cardinals held a narrow two-point advantage, 64-62, with 2:13 to play. York then hit a pair of free throws on its next two possessions to go up by six, 68-62, with 1:10 to play. Brooklyn would then score the next five points and closed to within one point when John hit a lay-up with three seconds remaining. After a Brooklyn foul, York's Omari Phipps missed the ensuing free throw and the Bulldogs came up with the rebound. However, Brooklyn did not have time to get off a final shot and the game came to a close.
Despite shooting just 34 percent and turning the ball over 19 times, the Cardinals came out on top because they outrebounded the Bulldogs by a 54-31 margin.
Coach Ronald St. John will look to earn his 300th victory when the Cardinals travel to Saratoga Springs, NY for the Skidmore Invitational on Friday. York will tip-off with Wells College at 8:00 p.m.
