York College

Box Score
    
BROOKLYN, NY– After an even first half, Brooklyn College turned up its defensive effort in the second half and shut down York College in the final 20 minutes of action as the Bulldogs defeated the Cardinals men's basketball team 80-69 in the quarterfinals of the 2011 CUNY/ Con Edison Men's Basketball Championships Sunday afternoon. 

Despite being outsized by York, Brooklyn used a strategy that had worked in their previous two outings this season: They took advantage of their quickness and pressed for nearly the entire game.  Brooklyn forced 28 turnovers, 19 of which came in the second half.  Turnovers had been a problem for the Cardinals all season and it turned out to be the cause of their demise in the 2011 conference playoffs. 

The two teams played to a 42-42 tie in the first half of play.  Brooklyn jumped out to an early advantage taking a 15-4 lead just 3:30 into the game following a Tyshawn Russell lay-up.  York picked up its play from there and slowly clawed back into the game.  Trailing by seven points (40-33) with 3:08 left in the first half, the Cardinals got hot and closed the half with a 9-2 run.  A three-pointer by Kevin Lausell put York up by two points (42-40) with 16 seconds remaining.  A pair of Brooklyn free throws would even the score up at halftime.

The second half of play was all Brooklyn.  The Bulldogs forced four turnovers right out of the gate and scored the first six points to go up 48-42 with 17:41 to play.   Eight minutes later the Bulldogs were still holding on to a 63-59 lead when they caught fire.  Russell would score seven straight points for the Bulldogs as part of a 9-1 run that put Brooklyn up 72-60 with 4:40 to play.  That would prove to be the turning point of the game, as York could not make a serious threat the rest of the way.

Russell scored a team-high 23 points and handed out five assists and Amil John scored 22 points to lead Brooklyn.  Ahmad Hemingway also added 16 points to pace the Bulldogs.  For York, Marcel Esonwune closed out his phenomenal career with a 28-point, 18-rebound effort and sophomore Shamir Wilkinson netted 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. 

Brooklyn (15-11) now advances to the semi-finals on Wednesday and will take on top-seeded College of Staten Island on the campus of CCNY.  York season ends with a record of 9-17.