New York, NY | The Schenectady County Royals were in town for a doubleheader against the Panthers and Lady Panthers on Saturday afternoon. After weeks of high-paced offense setting the tone, the men's team found themselves in a defensive showdown with the Panthers coming out on top 76-68. In the women's matchup, the Lady Panthers were able to hold off the three point barrage from their Region 3 opponent to claim a 50-44 victory.
 
During the first half of the doubleheader, Karina Ortega dominated the Royals on both ends of the court, the sophomore forward finished the game with 19 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals. As BMCC outrebounded Schenectady County by a wide margin (46-28), Maryam Toure was integral to the Lady Panthers success, the Queens-native recorded 13 boards to go along with her 8 points. Freshman Omorefe Slayton-Izevbuwa contributed to the win by going 3 for 5 from the field on her way to a career-high 8 points while grabbing 8 rebounds. With the win, the Lady Panthers move to 9-2 at the midway point in the season.
 
Entering the contest, the men's basketball team had maintained a season average of nearly 100 points per game by taking over 70 shots per game, but on Saturday the Schenectady defense managed to slow down the high-powered BMCC offense by limiting them to just 58 field goal attempts. Once again the Panthers managed to surprise their opponent with their versatility, while the offense was lacking throughout the game, the Panthers put in extra effort on defense to hold the Royals to just 68 points on 42.1% shooting from the field. In the defensive showcase between the two teams, Curtis Smith could not be stopped by the opposing defense, the Panthers shooting guard went 7 of 9 from the field for 21 points. Freshman Quran Dublin flirted with a double-double as he recorded 18 points and 9 rebounds. While recording a team-high 6 assists, sophomore point guard Anthony McClean poured in 12 points to lift the Panthers over the Royals.
 
Both teams will have a few weeks to rest before returning to action on Thursday, January 4^th when they will take on the Monroe Express.