New York, New York - The BMCC men's basketball team came up short on the road Saturday afternoon against nationally ranked No. 5 Brookdale Community College 79-52 in Lincroft, New Jersey. The loss drops the Panthers to 10-11, while the Jersey Blues' ninth straight victory improves them to 22-3.

Freshmen Leverson Tulien (Roslyn Heights, New York) led all Panther's offensive and defensive attack with a team-high 16 points to go along with a team-best nine rebounds and three blocks while tying for another one with two steals. Classmate Ysaia Marte (Bronx, New York) registered 15 points and dished out a team-high five assists while tying for a team-best in steals with Adewale Fasanmi (Brooklyn, New York) with two. Fasanmi had three rebounds and two blocks in the contest, and freshman Daniel Laffitte (New York, New York) hauled down six rebounds. 

The Panthers came out punching early against the #5 ranked Jersey Blues, scoring six of the first 11 points as a Marte layup at 17:45 made it 6-5. Then Brookdale C.C. scored six of the next eight points to take a three-point lead, 11-8 on a three-point play by Nick Williams at 15:16 before the Panthers scored the following four points to tie it at 12 on a Fasanmi layup at 14:37. The Jersey Blues would take over the game the rest of the game from there with a ferocious 15-2 run to stretch the lead to 13, 27-14 at 9:58 after Williams went 1-for-2 at the line, then they would go on to outscore the Panthers 29-12 the rest of the period going into halftime with a 41-24 lead.
 
The second half would feature more of the same, with the Jersey Blues building their advantage to its largest of the afternoon, 38 71-33 at 8:19 on a Devin Strickland layup, and cruised to a 79-52 victory.

Nine different Jersey Blues players scored on the afternoon, and three finished in double figures. Nick Williams led the offense with a game-high 19 points. Josiah Basket chipped in with 14 points, and Kevin Mateo posted a double-double dishing out a game-high 11 assists and scoring 11 points. Mateo also gobbled up a game-high five steals, while Williams and Darnell Askew also ripped down a team-best seven rebounds each.

The Panthers begin their quest for the program's first conference championship since the 2019-20 season as the third seed in the 2023 CUNYAC CC Men's Basketball Championship and look to make it two of three against the second-seeded Hostos Community College Caimans on Wednesday, February 15 at 6 p.m. at Kingsborough Gymnasium. For more information, visit the BMCC Men's Basketball Schedule Page.
 

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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).