New York, NY | BMCC basketball took on the Nassau Lions in a women's/men's doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. Despite a late rally from the men's team, the Panthers could not complete the comeback, falling 90-86 to the Region XV opponent. Staunch defending from the Lady Panthers led to a 55-46 victory, improving their record to 4-0 to begin the season.

In the first game of the doubleheader, the women's team held the Lions below 30% shooting from the field, and did not relinquish the lead for the entire length of the game. The Lady Panthers were led by their sophomore guard Nikola Zilakova. The 2015-16 CUNYAC All-Star went 5-6 from behind the arc on her way to 24 points in the game, while Karina Ortega poured in another 14 points. After reaching double-digit scoring totals in the first four games this season, Ortega leads the team in scoring with 19.7 points per game.

By the end of the men's game, a total of 5 BMCC players had recorded 10 or more points, with Curtis Smith leading the way with 18 points, while Quran Dublin and Viktor Kovacevic tallied 16 points apiece. Trailing by 18 in the opening minute of the second half, the Panthers offense came to life on a 17-5 run to bring themselves within striking distance. After cutting the deficit to just 2 points in the final thirty seconds of regulation, BMCC was forced to foul Nassau, but strong free throw shooting from the Lions down the stretch would seal the fate of Panthers.

Both BMCC basketball teams will be in action again on Tuesday when they take on the Queensborough Tigers in a CUNY Athletic Conference matchup. Tip off for the first game of the doubleheader is set for 5:30pm in Bayside, NY.