Long Island City, New York – The BMCC men's basketball squad came into Tuesday night's CUNYAC matchup with Laguardia Community College looking to reach a mark the program has not achieved in four seasons. The Panthers had four players in double figures for a second consecutive game in a dominant 80-64 conference road victory over the Red Hawks in Long Island City, New York, extending their winning streak to six, the program's longest since 2018-19. The Panther's sixth straight victory improves their record to 7-4 (5-0 CUNYAC), while the Red Hawks drop to 1-9 (1-4 CUNYAC). 

Three of the five BMCC starters recorded double-figure scoring performances as freshman Ysaia Marte (Bronx, New York) smashed his previous career-high from last Tuesday with a new one this evening, dropping a career and team-high 20 points with 16 of them in the first half.

Sophomore Jeremiah Cardi (New York, New York) scored 15 points and handed out a team-high three assists, while freshman Abdoul Toure (Brooklyn, New York) came off the bench to register 14 points. Underclassman Jayden Jarrett (Bronx, New York) put up his second straight double-figure game with 10 points in the contest.
 
Freshman Leverson Tulien (Roslyn Heights, New York) missed his team-leading fourth double-double by two rebounds and two points, hauling down a team-best eight rebounds and contributing eight points. Cardi snagged five steals, a team-best, while freshman Daniel Laffitte (New York, New York) gobbled up four.

The Panthers scored 80 points for the fifth time this season and shot a season-high 94.1% from the charity stripe (16-17 FT). BMCC's transition game was outstanding, scoring 29 points off 22 Laguardia C.C. turnovers while outscoring them in the paint 42-22. The Panthers also finished 47% from the field (31-66 FG) on the night and have put up a 40% field goal percentage in five of their six wins during the streak. Defensively, the Panthers have been a problem for their opponents as they corralled 10 or more steals for the seventh straight game and sixth straight during this run.

After both teams traded the first 10 points, the Panthers put together an 11-0 run to get the lead to double digits for the first time on the evening, 16-5, when Cardi picked off a left-wing pass and took it coast to coast for the finish at the 15:47 mark. The Red Hawks trimmed the BMCC lead down to seven, 22-15, at the 10:45 mark on a Steven Estevez layup, then BMCC took control utilizing a 14-2 run to stretch their lead to its largest of the first half, 19, 36-17 on a Toure jumper at 3:45.

After a fastbreak bucket by Justin Greene got the Panther lead down to 11, 36-25 at the 1:04 mark, BMCC closed out the first half with the final six points capped off by Cardi's left block layin with 10 seconds to go giving them a 42-25 advantage at halftime.

The Panthers kept their foot on the gas the whole second half, never letting their lead slip under double digits. BMCC built the lead to its largest lead of the night, 20, 63-43, when Victor Cruz (Brooklyn, New York) nailed a three-pointer from the right baseline at 10:40 and controlled the narrative the rest of the way en route to an 80-64 victory. 

Laguardia Community College had three of their five starters register double-figure scoring performances led by Steven Estevez's game-high 25 points and 9-for-18 shooting effort. CUNYAC Player of the Week Justin Greene chipped in with 14 points. Timothy Arthur scored 10 points and tied with Estevez and Greene for a game-best in assists with three. Ahmad Sackor grabbed a game-high tied nine rebounds while Greene recorded a game-best four steals.

The Panthers will look to build on their excellent finish to 2022 in the New Year and stretch their winning streak to seven on Tuesday, January 10, against Essex County College at BMCC Gymnasium. For more information, visit the BMCC Men's Basketball Schedule Page.


ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The athletic program at Borough of Manhattan Community College encompasses a total of eight varsity teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level. For the latest news on the Panthers, please visit us at https://bmccathletics.com - The official site of BMCC Athletics. Follow the Panthers on Instagram (@bmcc_athletics) and Twitter (@BMCCAthletics), and Like Us on Facebook (BMCC Athletics).