The LaGuardia Red Hawks took on the BMCC Panthers on Tuesday night in a rematch of last season's CUNYAC Championship game. The defending champion Red Hawks entered the game with a record of 8-2 and a perfect 4-0 record in the conference. They were looking to defend their home court against a formidable opponent in the 7-2 Panthers who were 2-1 in CUNYAC play. This hard fought game between familiar opponents would end with the same result as the last time the two met, with LaGuardia taking the win by the score of 95-92.

LaGuardia Coach Ben Chobhaphand was very pleased with his team's performance. "We did a great job closing it out with free throws at the end," said Chobhaphand. "Terrell Fullerton from BMCC is one heck of a player, but I think we did a good job of making his shots tough tonight."

The Red Hawks came out energized in the first half as they jumped out to a quick lead which sent the crowd into a frenzy. The Panthers seemed overwhelmed early on with the Red Hawks forcing missed shots and turnovers on the defensive end which led to offensive opportunities for LaGuardia. George Pena hit a three and continuously got to the rim as the Red Hawks opened the game on a 16-4 scoring run.

With 13:02 left in the first half, BMCC would start their climb back into the game. The Panthers offense finally began to click as they went on a scoring run of their own to cut the Red Hawks' lead to single digits. For the next six minutes the teams traded baskets, but turnovers would continue to prove costly for the Panthers as the Red Hawks maintained a comfortable lead.

LaGuardia seemingly dominated for most of the first half, but with just under two minutes remaining, a three by Jason Mejia of BMCC cut the Red Hawks' lead to just 6. A few defensive stops and another Panthers basket before the end of the half left the Laguardia crowd wondering where the Red Hawks' lead had gone. With a score of 41-37 in favor of Laguardia at the half, the game was still very much up for grabs with 20 minutes left to play.

LaGuardia guards Juan Ramos-Rivera and George Pena each contributed 9 points in the first half while BMCC was led by Jericho Cherisma with 10 points.

Both teams picked up right where they left off in the second half as they exchanged fast break scores and played at an exceptionally fast pace in the opening minutes. It was clear that getting to the rim would be a priority for both teams as the game went on. Five minutes into the second half it was anybody's game with the Red Hawks barely holding onto the four point lead that they took into halftime. Two straight turnovers by LaGuardia would aid in a 6-0 scoring run for BMCC as they took the lead for the first time in the game on a three by George Keener. With 13 minutes to play, the score was 56-54 in favor of the Panthers.

The game remained close with George Pena providing a calming presence for the Red Hawks as Terrell Fullerton of BMCC relentlessly attacked the basket for the Panthers in an effort to steal the game away from LaGuardia. Mahlik Sherlock contributed mightily in the paint for the Red Hawks throughout the game and especially as the game came down to the wire. Sherlock scored 5 consecutive points for LaGuardia including a three point play that put his team up by six and caused the crowd to erupt.

The LaGuardia offense continued to step up as the game moved toward its conclusion. With just over seven minutes left in the game, forward Yashawn Gonzalez-Bright of LaGuardia stole the ball and slammed it home on a breakaway to put the Red Hawks up by nine. The home crowd was rocking and the Red Hawks were on a role.

With 4:18 remaining in the game, LaGuardia held a 79-70 lead as they looked to close out the game against their familiar foe. Terrell Fullerton of BMCC continued flying toward the rim as he gave everything he had to try to pull his team to victory, but on this night it wouldn't be enough. The defending CUNYAC champs definitely looked the part in the final minutes of the game as tenacious defense and timely free throw shooting helped the Red Hawks finish off a hard fought win over the Panthers by the score of 95-92.

The Red Hawks offense was led by George Pena and Mahlik Sherlock who each contributed 21 points. The Panthers offense was led by Terrell Fullerton who was the leading scorer for the game with 29 points.

LaGuardia improved to 9-2 and a perfect 5-0 in the conference with the win. They will look to continue their success against Mercer on Saturday.

BMCC fell to 7-3 overall and 2-2 in CUNYAC play and will look to get back to their winning ways on Saturday when they take on the Bronx Broncos in another CUNYAC matchup.