Men’s Basketball Drops Hard-Fought Game to Medgar Evers
BOX SCORE
BROOKLYN N.Y.— The York College men's basketball team dug itself out of an early 19-point deficit to take a second-half lead, only to see Medgar Evers College pull back ahead and defeat the Cardinals 85-78 in a CUNY Athletic Conference contest on Wednesday evening.
York struggled in the early going as a 16-10 Medgar Evers lead ballooned to a 34-15 score with 5:10 in the half following an 18-5 run. Poor York shooting coupled by a balanced scoring attack by the Cougars were the reasons for the run. The Cardinals would finish the half strong though, and cut the deficit to 11 points (38-27) at halftime.
With 17:11 to play in the second half and the Cardinals trailing by nine, York opened up a 10-0 run capped off by a
Tony Vails dunk and took a 43-42 lead. It was their first advantage since the opening bucket of the game.
The game would stay tight until the final minutes. The Cougars held a four-point advantage (74-70) with 2:14 to play when back-to-back three-pointers extended their lead to ten points with 56 seconds to go. York was forced to foul the rest of the way and the Cougars made enough of their free throws to seal the victory.
Free throw shooting was a key part of the win for Medgar Evers. The Cougars shot 85 percent (23-27), while York shot just 63 percent (14-22). Medgar Evers also drained ten shots from beyond the arc, compared to just two three-pointers for the Cardinals.
York was led by Shamir Wilkinsons, who finished with a double-double, scoring 22 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Vails also had a double-double with 21 points and 13 boards.
Thomas Hart chipped in nine points.
Medgar Evers had a big night from Michael Taylor, who recorded a game-high 29 points. Jovan Deare finished with 20 points and Winston Douglas had 14 points and 15 boards.
Both teams now have identical records of 7-9 overall and 3-4 in the CUNYAC. York will return to action with a home contest on Friday against Lehman College. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m.
