Box Score
New York, New York | The BMCC Men's Basketball team fell short, 91-85, to Regional opponent Monroe College (Bronx) on the road Tuesday night in the Bronx. The defeat ends the Panthers three-game winning streak dropping them to 9-7 (6-6 Region XV), while the victory moves the Express to 5-14 (3-10 Region XV).
Four BMCC Players posted double-digit scoring efforts on the evening, as sophomore Terrance McBride (Brooklyn, New York) recorded his second straight 20-point effort, with a team-high 20 points on 9-for-19 shooting while tying a team-best for two assists. Freshmen Elvys Ceballos (New York City, New York) scored 19 points, and Sophomore Curtis Smith (Brooklyn, New York) put up a career-high 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while underclassman Malik Bentinck (Queens, New York) chipped in with 14. Ceballos and Bentinck both just missed out on a double-double by one, tying a team-high with nine rebounds, while Ceballos also grabbed a team-best three steals on the night.
The game was a seesaw battle throughout the evening, with 13 different lead changes and seven ties. After Ceballos knocked down a three-pointer at the 8:21 mark to get the deficit down to one, 24-23, Monroe College capped off a 9-0 run with two free-throws to build their biggest lead of the first half, 10, 33-23 at 5:36.
BMCC used a furious 16-4 down the stretch to tie it at 34 - on a Ceballos jumper at the 1:33 mark - and retake the lead 36-34 - on a McBride layup at 1:08 - before going into halftime up 39-37.
The Panthers came out strong to begin the second half, scoring the first four points and holding the hosts scoreless over the first two and a half minutes to stretch their lead to six, 43-37, its biggest of the evening on an Eric Massingale (Brooklyn, New York) layup at 17:09. The Express scored five unanswered points to get the deficit down to one, 43-42, at the 15:42 mark before two McBride free-throws got the lead up to 45-42.
Monroe College scored on back-to-back layups to retake the lead 46-45 at 13:32 before the next 4:10 saw the lead change hands four different times, and both rosters knot it up four separate times. Then the Express constructed a 16-3 run over the next 4:02 and capped it off with a jumper at the 4:52 mark to get the lead to 11, 74-63, its heftiest of the evening. The Panthers would not go quietly, mounting a 10-2 run of their own to get within three, 76-73 on a three-point play by Smith with 1:56 remaining.
Monroe College ended the suspense from there going on an 8-0 run to get the lead back to its largest ledger 11, 84-73, and never looking back en route to a surprising 91-85 victory.
Monroe College had three players in double-figures, as freshman guard Kevon Wiggins dropped a career-high 39 points on a game-high 12-for-23 shooting and 8-for-14 from beyond the arc. Wiggins also went a game-best 7-of-10 at the charity stripe while tying for a team-best with three steals. Sophomore guard Kevin Benjamin contributed 19 points in the game to go along with a team-high nine rebounds and six assists, while freshman guard Adonis Robinson added 10 in the contest.
Notables:
- Terrance McBride (Brooklyn, New York) put up his team-high tied seventh 20-point game of the season and his third straight game with 20 points or more.
- McBride also has scored in double figures in all 16 games this season, while Malik Bentinck (Queens, New York) recorded his 14th double-digit scoring effort.
- Bentinck is second on the team in double-digit scoring games.
- Elvys Ceballos (New York City, New York) posted his eleventh double-digit output on the season.
- The Panthers had three or more players score in double-figures for the thirteenth time this season and the fourth time in the last six games.
The Panthers conclude their four-game road trip this Thursday, Jan. 23, against Regional foe Suffolk County Community College in Seldon, New York. The opening tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. For more information, please visit the BMCC Men's Basketball Schedule Page.
