Branchburg, New Jersey - After trailing by as much as 11 points in the first half, the BMCC men's basketball team put together a strong second-half performance, outscoring Raritan Valley Community College 38-32 to force overtime, but the Lions would prevail in the extra period defeating the Panthers 88-81 on Thursday afternoon in Branchburg, New Jersey. The Panthers drop to 5-9 overall with the loss, while the Lions improve to 12-4 with the victory.
 
Four Panther players registered double-digit scoring efforts on the afternoon for the third time this season, with one recording a double-double. Freshman Isah Mohammed (Lagos, Nigeria) led the way with his second straight double-double and team-leading sixth of the season with a career and team-best 19 points, 11 of them in the second half while hauling down a career and game-high 19 boards, taking down 11 of them in the second half. Classmate Kimmeo Dixson (Bronx, New York) dropped a career-high 16 points in his first career start, with 12 coming off a career and team-best four three-pointers. Fellow underclassman Khalil Black (Queens, New York) recorded his team-high tied 11th double-figure game and sixth straight double-digit scoring performance with 15 points. Sophomore Jayden Jarrett (Bronx, New York) chipped in with 13 points and grabbed four boards on the afternoon. 

Black led the Panthers with three assists while classmate Ja'Lyn Griffin (Ithaca, New York) dished out two helpers of his own. 
 
Mohammed led the Panthers on defense with six blocks, while Dixson, Black, and sophomore Boubacar Mbaye (Staten Island, New York) had two steals each.  
 
The Lions raced out of the gate with 13 of the first 17 points, grabbing a 13-4 lead at 16:07 on a Tim Godwin three-pointer and extending their lead back to nine, 16-9 at 13:51 when Godwin converted a layup. The Panthers scored four of the following seven points to cut the deficit down to six, 19-13, at 12:11, before the Lions scored six of the following eight points to get the lead to double digits for the first time on the afternoon, 25-15 at 9:32 on a Godwin layin. The Panthers got within seven, 27-20, on a Jarrett layup at the 8:00 mark before Raritan Valley scored seven of the following ten points to get the lead of the afternoon 11, 34-23, on a Julien Val layup at 5:46.
 
BMCC would roar back with a 9-3 run to cut the deficit down to four, 36-32, on a Black layin at the 3:18 mark before the Raritan Valley scored six of the remaining ten points of the period to take a 42-36 lead into the halfway point.
 
The second half was a back-and-forth slugfest with four lead changes and two ties, as the game overall had eight lead changes and six ties. The Panthers brought it in the period tying the game up at 42 with the first six points on two Dixson three-pointers at 19:11 and 18:40. After a Damon Strand layup gave the Lions back the lead 44-42 at the 18:02 mark the lead would change hands four times over the next 2:16 with a Black layup at 16:56 putting the Panthers back in front 45-44 then Godwin gave the Lions the lead 46-45 before the Panthers scored six straight points with Dixon's layup at 16:18 putting BMCC back in front 47-46 and then Jarrett knocked down a jump shot at 14:04 to extend the lead to five, 51-46.
 
Raritan Valley scored six of the following nine points to cut the deficit down to two, 54-52 at the 12:34 mark before a Dontate Creedland (Brooklyn, New York) jumper at 11:18 stretched the BMCC lead to its largest of the afternoon six, 58-52 at 11:18. After the Lions cut the lead back down to two, 58-56 at 9:58 the Panthers rolled off four consecutive points to get the lead back to six, 62-56 at 8:31 when Creedland connected on another jumper and back to six, 64-58 again on a Mohammed jumper at the 7:40 mark. The Lions scored four of the following five points to get the deficit within three, 65-62, at 6:01, then Black hit from three to get the lead back to six, 68-62, with 5:44 remaining.
 
Raritan Valley put together a ferocious 12-1 run over the next 3:15 with Strand and Godwin three-pointers tying it at 69 at 4:04 and putting the Lions back in front 72-69 at the 3:32 mark before a Strand layup stretched the lead to five, 74-69 with 2:59 remaining. The Panthers would roar back with the following five points, with two Mohammed free throws tying it at 74 with 1:06 remaining. 
 
The Panthers had two more chances to go back in front, but Black couldn't cash in on a jumper with 33 seconds left, and Jarrett missed two free throws with 32 seconds. Elisha White had a chance for the win with four seconds left, but his three-pointer was off the mark, sending both teams into overtime with the game tied at 74. 
 
Strand got the Lions on board first in the extra period, connecting from downtown to make it 77-74 at 4:30. The Panthers would record the following four points with a Jarrett getting the Panthers within one, 77-76 at 4:11 and Mohammed going 2-for-2 at the charity stripe to give them the lead 78-77 at 2:13. Raritan Valley would pull away with a 10-0 run with a Godwin three-pointer with two minutes left putting them back in front 80-77 and two Strand free throws with 17 seconds capping it off to give them a 87-78 lead and helping them grab an 88-81 victory after all was said and done.
 
Raritan Valley Community College had three of their five starters score in double figures, two 20-point scoring performances, and one posting a double-double. Tim Godwin led the charge with a game-high 28 points and five three-pointers, while Damon Strand dropped 21 points and hauled down a team-best 12 rebounds, and Alif Bass chipped in with 12 points. Godwin and Bass gave out a game-best tied three assists each while Godwin, Ernest Carter, and Val Julien all snatched two steals each.
 
The Panthers are done with the 2023 portion of their 2023-24 schedule and will get back to it at home in the New Year on Saturday, January 6, at 2 p.m. against Passaic County Community College at BMCC Gymnasium. For more information, visit the BMCC Men's Basketball Schedule Page.

Notables –
- Isah Mohammed (Lagos, Nigeria) is second in the nation with 67 blocks and second overall nationally with 4.8 blocks per game.
- Mohammed's team-high 67 blocks is now fifth most in a single season, surpassing Justin Daniel's 63 blocks from 2009-10 and Kenneth Coar's 60 blocks from 2014-2015 while also being seventh all-time in program history with 67 blocks. He has registered five or more blocks in back-to-back contests and eight in his 14 games this season.
- Mohammed also leads the Panthers with 192 total rebounds and a 13.7 rebounds per game average. He is also third in the nation in total rebounds (192) and tied for fifth in the country in rebounding average (13.7), registering a team-best 11 double-digit rebounding games, including four straight and a team-high six double-doubles. 
- Mohammed's 192 total rebounds also moved him into 21st all-time in program history, surpassing Lawrence Todman's total of 188 from 2016 to 2018.
- Mohammed finished the 2023 calendar portion of the Panthers schedule with authority, averaging 16 points per game, 16.5 rebounds per game, 6.5 blocks per game, 63 percent shooting from the field (10-for-16), 85.7 percent from the line (12-for-14) to go along with three assists and three steals. He has ripped down 61 rebounds in his last four games and averaged 15.3 boards per game during that stretch.
- Khalil Black (Queens, New York) continued his strong finish to the 2023 portion of the Panthers schedule, averaging 14 points per game, 52.3 percent shooting from the field (11-for-21) with four assists, four steals, and a block.
- Black leads the Panthers in three-pointers made (24) and three-pointers attempted (60), connecting on two or more three-pointers in eight of his thirteen games this season and in his last four games. He is second on the Panthers in total points (184), scoring average (13.1), field goals attempted (139), free throws made (37), free throws attempted (47), and steals (23) while ranking third in field goals made (61).
- Jayden Jarrett (Bronx, New York) also climbed up the record books, moving into 11th all-time in program history with 267 career rebounds, passing Patrick Bonna's total of 265 from 2006-2008. He also has posted his second straight 100 rebound season after ripping down 162 last year, which was second on the team.
- Ja'Lyn Griffin (Ithaca, New York) has dished out a team-best 70 assists, seventh most in the nation and 12th in the country in assists per game with a 5.0 assist per game average. Griffin has dished out three or more assists in 11 of his 14 games this season.


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