NEW YORK, N.Y. (Feb. 13, 2019) - The top two seeds held serve Wednesday night in the semifinals of the 2019 CUNYAC Community College Men's Basketball Championship at BMCC Gymnasium in Manhattan.

No. 1 seed Hostos held on for a 105-98 win over fourth-seeded Bronx in the opener, while No. 2 seed BMCC pulled away early in a 92-70 rout of No. 3 seed Queensborough.

It is the first time in the tournament's history that Hostos and BMCC will meet for the league title. The championship is set to tip off Friday (Feb. 15) at 8:30 p.m. and will be aired to a worldwide audience on Facebook Live, via the CUNYAC's Facebook page.

Hostos 105, Bronx 98 
Bronx came storming out of the gate, opening the contest on a 16-4 run in the game's first 3:46. Freshman guard Tilquan Rucker accounted for nine of the points. Rucker went on to make history, breaking the tournament's single-game scoring record with an eye-popping 49-point night. That effort shattered a 27-year-old record of 41 points, which was set by Kingsborough's Tony Robertson in 1992.

Rucker shot a scintillating 17-of-27 from the field, 6-of-9 from three-point range and 9-of-11 from the line, in addition to pulling down seven rebounds and swiping three steals.

The Broncos eventually built as much as a 33-18 lead at the midway point of the half, before the Caimans began their comeback. Hostos outscored Bronx 33-14 in the last 9:30 to take a slight 51-47 advantage into the locker room. That stretch included a 23-9 Caiman run to close out the period.

In the second half, Bronx kept it close and eventually regained the lead with 11:02 left, but Hostos answered with a furious 13-1 response to put the game away for good.

Freshman guard Tyron Smith scored seven points in the run, including a go-ahead fast-break jumper at the 10:22 mark. Sophomore forward Sondai Downing added a pair of lay-ups. Fellow sophomore forward Gary Sylvester had a lay-up, as well.

"I have been in a lot of heated battles, and you need to stay poised," said Hostos Head Coach Marquee Poole about his team's rally. "They just believed in each other and kept playing. Coming from behind is never easy, but they had the will to win and didn't give up."

Poole then stated: "It feels great (to be going to the conference championship). We want to bring it home and celebrate it with our Hostos family and the entire community."

Both teams shot exceptionally well for the game. The Broncos converted on 52.1 percent (37-of-71) of their field-goal attempts, while the Caimans made 52.9 percent (37-of-70) of their shots.

Five players finished in double figures for Hostos. Freshman guard Korey Williams poured in a team-high 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Sophomore guard Nakeem Hamilton scored 27 points and grabbed five rebounds. Downing notched a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) in 33 minutes of action. Sylvester chipped in 16 points and two assists. Smith came off the bench to provide 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals.

In addition to Rucker's outstanding performance, Bronx got a 17-point night from Malik Hamilton. Freshman forward Elijah Lopez had 12 points and three rebounds. Freshman guard William Paradise added 11 points, six assists and three rebounds.

BMCC 92, Queensborough 70 
Playing on its own floor, BMCC capitalized on its home-court advantage and jumped out to a commanding 14-0 lead in the first 4:16. Sophomore forward Viktor Kovacevic had eight of the run's first 10 points. Sophomore guards Alex Humphreys and Quran Dublin followed with back-to-back three-pointers.

The Panthers continued to keep their foot to the gas pedal from there, increasing their lead to an overwhelming 21-point margin (44-23) with 3:16 remaining before halftime.

BMCC, which shot a outstanding 56.3 percent (18-of-32) from the floor to Queensborough's 24.2 percent (8-of-33) in the first 20 minutes, eventually led 46-27 at the break.

"It started with our defense. We did a really good job on them for the first 10 minutes and it set the tone the rest of the way," said BMCC Head Coach Tommy Guerin.

In the second half, the Tigers slowly started to chip away and closed the gap to an 11-point difference (67-56) with 6:41 to go, via a 15-3 run. Freshman guard Justin Wilson got things going for Queensborough with a three. Fellow freshman guard Marcus Watson also knocked down a trifecta in the burst.

BMCC staved off the Tiger comeback though, responding with an 18-9 run to close it out. An 8-for-8 showing at the foul line by Kovacevic sealed it for the Panthers.

Kovacevic finished with a line of 37 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. He was an impressive 11-of-15 from the floor and 14-of-15 at the stripe. Dublin drained four three-pointers in a 21-point evening. Humphreys contributed 13 points and three assists. Sophomore center Ashan Adams had a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without my teammates and coach setting me up," Kovacevic said. "They believed in me and gave me the ball. I am just coming back off of injury. I had to show up for my team. It wouldn't be possible without my teammates though."

"Viktor is extremely underrated. He is a 6-foot-7 guard. He plays the big man spot for us because we ask him to and he's an unselfish kid. He can handle the ball and go to the rim. We are just excited to have him back," added Guerin.

Watson and Mark Blair both scored 20 points for Queensborough. Blair also crashed the glass for 13 rebounds in the loss. Freshman guard Samuel Johnson pitched in 12 points and four rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. Freshman guard/forward Devon Matthews racked up 10 points and three rebounds.