Brooklyn, New York - The third-seeded BMCC men's basketball team gave top-seeded and Conference Regular-Season Champion Hostos Community College all they could handle on Friday night, forcing the first double overtime game in the CUNYAC Community College Men's Basketball Championship's history. The Panthers had the Caimans on the ropes in the second extra session but could not put them away as Hostos rallied late to pull away and take the league title 88-85 at Kingsborough Gymnasium.

BMCC falls to 11-16 with the loss, while Hostos Community College improves to 18-9 with the victory, capturing their seventh CUNYAC Community College Championship in program history and second league crown in three seasons.

The Panthers had all five starters score in double-figures, with two putting up 20-point scoring efforts and two registering double-doubles. Sophomore Jayden Jarrett (Bronx, New York) and freshman Isah Mohammed (Lagos, Nigeria) both put up their team-leading tied eighth double-doubles as Jarrett led all scorers on the night with his fourth 20-point game and team-leading tied eighth double-double on the season with a game-high 23 points with 13 of them coming in the first half and 15 rebounds. Mohammed dropped a career-best 22 points while hauling down a game-high 18 rebounds and denying a game-best eight shots. Mohammed also dished out a team-high four assists.

Freshman Khalil Black (Queens, New York) scored his 21st double-figure game and 18th in his last 19 games with 16 points, 10 of them in the second half and three in the second overtime and a team-high three three-pointers. Sophomore Ysaia Marte (Bronx, New York) scored 14 points for his team-leading 23rd double-figure game, and freshman Ja'Lyn Griffin (Ithaca, New York) contributed 10 points.

Black and Marte were also named to the 2024 CUNYAC Championship All-Tournament Team, with Black averaging 20 points per game and going 7-of-11 from behind the arc (63.6 percent) in both contests with a game-high 24 points and a team-best four three-pointers in the semifinals against QCC on Wednesday. Marte averaged 17 points per game and four assists per game, including a game-high six assists in the Semifinal victory over Queensborough Community College.

Jarrett now has 503 career points and is the 10th player in school history to reach that mark, which is good for 15th all-time in school history. Jarrett is still fifth all-time with 394 career rebounds and six away from being the third-ever player in program history to reach 400 career rebounds.

Mohammed became the first player in program history to register 100 blocks in a single season and the fourth player in school history to do it for his career. Mohammed's team-best 105 blocks are also a single-season record and fourth all-time in program history. The Lagos, Nigeria native averaged a double-double during the 2024 CUNYAC Championship with 17 points per game, 12.5 rebounds per game, and nine blocks per game, and his team-best 263 rebounds are ninth most in a single-season and 11th all-time.

Marte moved into second all-time in program history with 771 career points, passing Terrell Fullerton, and his season-best and team-leading 495 points are sixth most in a single season. Black has knocked down a team-high 57 three-pointers on the year, which is eighth most in a single season, and passed Jeremiah Cardi for ninth all-time in program history.

The Panthers outrebounded Hostos on the night 47-39 and outscored them 44-38 in the paint. BMCC also registered double-digit assists for the third straight game and 23rd time this season with 10 in the contest while shooting 40 percent or better for the 10th straight game with a 46.7 percent shooting effort on the night (28-for-60), including 52.4 percent from the field in the second half (11-for-21).

BMCC also shot 70 percent or better for a second straight game from the charity stripe, going 26-of-34 (76.5 percent), including a perfect 14-of-14 effort from the line in the second half.

The Conference final lived up to all the hype and expectations of the fans who came out to Brooklyn featuring 13 different lead changes and 17 ties.

The Panthers came out swinging for the opening tip in the first half, leading for 17:51 and scoring eight of the first 11 points to lead by five, 8-3, at 16:08 on a Marte layup. Hostos scored seven of the following 11 points to get within two, 12-10, at 12:55 on a three-pointer by Tyrese Conway before the Panthers scored eight of the following 13 points to get their lead up to five again, 20-15 on a pair of Black free throws. 

The Caimans responded with six consecutive points to take their first lead, 21-20, at 8:34 on a Douglas-Vasquez three-pointer. The Panthers followed with seven of the following eight points to stretch their lead to its largest of the night seven, 29-22 at 3:08 when Jarrett went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe. The Caimans roared back to outscore the Panthers 15-6 down the stretch to retake the lead 35-32 on a Conway three-pointer with 36 seconds left and keep the lead at three 37-34 as the horn sounded for the halftime break.

The Panthers came out firing in the second half, tying the game back up at 44 at the 7:12 mark on a Black three-pointer and retaking the lead by two, 46-44, at 16:17 on a pair of Mohammed free throws. Douglas-Vasquez put the Caimans back in front by one, 47-46, at the 16:11 mark, and then the Panthers got four of the following five points with Jarrett knocking down a pair of free throws at 14:57 to give BMCC back the lead. Carrington's jumper gave Hostos the lead back at the 14:06 mark, 52-50, then BMCC roared back with 12 of the following 18 points to go back ahead 58-56 at 11:39 and 60-58 at 10:53 on a Jarrett layup and tip in and extend the lead to four, 62-58 at 9:43 on a Black layup.

The Caimans tied it again at 62 with a TeAmo Ebron layup at the 7:32 mark, then the Panthers responded with an 8-2 run to get the lead back up six, 70-64, when Griffin went a perfect 2-for-2 at the line at the 3:53 mark. Hostos would then go on an 8-0 run over the next 1:46 to retake the lead 72-70, capped off by an Ebron jumper with 1:07 left. The Panthers would not go away as Mohammed nailed a jumper with 39 seconds left to tie it at 72. Conway and Mohammed couldn't convert on their looks, sending the game into overtime deadlocked at 72.

The Panthers led by three in the first extra session three times and got all eight of their points of the period from Mohammed, who contributed to all those three-point BMCC leads, going 3-for-4 at the line to make it 75-72 at 4:44 and 77-74 at the 3:36 mark then burying a layup at 2:31 to make it 79-76 with 2:31 to go. Hostos scored back-to-back field goals from Francis Garcia and Ebron at 2:06 and 1:42 to take a brief 81-80 edge.

BMCC had a chance to regain the lead, but Mohammed could only convert on one of his two free throw attempts at 1:15, tying it at 80, then a Conway layup rimmed out in the final seconds to send the championship game to a second overtime. 

BMCC opened the second overtime with a three-pointer from Black 29 seconds in to make it 83-80, and after the Caimans tied it at 83, they retook the lead 85-83 on a pair of free throws from Griffin with 1:55 to go. The Caimans would score the final five points as Conway hit the game-winning basket with 34 seconds remaining to make it 87-85. 

Jarrett and Marte had two more chances to tie it at 87 and force a third overtime but couldn't convert on two free throws with 16 seconds left and a game-tying jumper with three seconds left. Douglas-Vasquez tacked on a free throw for insurance for the Caimans, securing their 88-85 victory.

Hostos had four players score in double figures, with 2024 CUNYAC Championship MVP Tyrese Conway and Francis Garcia scoring a team-best 19 points each. TeAmo Ebron scored 14 points, and Evan Douglas-Vasquez contributed 13 points. Conway, Ebron, and Justice Carrington all grabbed a team-high seven rebounds while Ebron handed out a game-high five assists and tied for another with Garcia snatching three steals.

The Panthers will now head on to the 2024 Region XV Tournament, beginning with the Quarterfinals on Tuesday, February 27. For more information on the matchup, please visit the BMCC Men's Basketball Schedule Page.
 

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