Men’s Basketball Falls Short As Season Comes To A Close
By Owen Russell
In their final two games of the season, the Brooklyn College men’s basketball team was unable to secure a victory. The Bulldogs suffered a blowout loss to York College on Feb. 15 in their final regular season game of the year. Brooklyn could not hold off York’s offensive onslaught in the first half, allowing 55 points in just the first two quarters. Things didn’t get much better for Brooklyn, and after a similarly rough second half, the Bulldogs fell 93-68. Despite the blowout, junior guard Kayin Olajide dropped an impressive 33 points while swiping six steals. With the loss at York, Brooklyn finished the season 3-21 seeded last in the CUNYAC.
Finishing last in the CUNYAC, Brooklyn was forced to face first-place Lehman in the opening round of the postseason on Feb. 19. With two previous losses to the Lightning this season, Brooklyn seemed poised for a third straight blowout against their number one ranked opponent. Never count the Bulldogs out though, because as the game tipped off, Brooklyn dug deep. In the first half, Brooklyn outscored Lehman 32-21 and gave the favorites a good scare. Brooklyn held the Lightning to 22 percent from the field.
It was an impressive show of resilience for a Brooklyn team who suffered many tough losses this season. Despite the strong first half, Brooklyn was unable to keep Lehman down. Battling back with vengeance, the Lightning outscored Brooklyn 50-22 after halftime, shooting 60 percent from the field and 8-13 from three-point land.
Lehman won the game 71-54. The Bulldogs gave top ranked Lehman a good fight and closed the season out on a strong note.
Women’s Basketball Secures CUNYAC Champ Title Again
By Owen Russell
The Brooklyn College women’s basketball team are champions yet again! The Bulldogs have won the CUNYAC Championship for the second straight season, and will be heading to the NCAA Div. III National Tournament.
The Bulldogs closed the regular season out with a 19-3 record. After finishing the regular season with dominant wins against York College and SUNY Purchase, the Bulldogs were set up as the first seed in the Women’s CUNYAC Tournament.
On Feb. 22, the Bulldogs faced Hunter College in the opening round of the postseason. Brooklyn had already beaten Hunter twice this season, both times by double digits, and Tuesday’s game was much of the same. Brooklyn held the Hawks to just eight first half points. Even though Hunter found some life after halftime, the Bulldogs kept them down with ease, cruising to a 77-45 victory. One of Brooklyn’s successes was capitalizing off turnovers. The Bulldogs scored 30 points off of Hunter turnovers, while the Hawks could only manage five points off Brooklyn’s mistakes. Junior guard Ericka James was electric for the Bulldogs, scoring 31 points, making six threes, and grabbing 11 rebounds.
After a dominant performance in their opening round, Brooklyn rolled into the finals against No. 2 seeded John Jay on Feb. 25. In two previous encounters this season, Brooklyn ramshackled the Bloodhounds, winning 85-49 and 69-52. While their previous encounters resulted in blowouts, Brooklyn was met with stronger opposition in the battle for the championship. John Jay kept the game close, but was never able to grab the lead from the Bulldogs. After a knockdown drag-out fight, the Bulldogs won the CUNYAC Championship 59-51, Brooklyn’s slimmest margin of victory against a conference opponent all season. Star forward Chanel Jemmott helped the Bulldogs secure gold, dropping 18 points and ripping down an outstanding 20 rebounds. Brooklyn’s rebounding helped them earn 24 second chance points, which may have been the difference-maker in such a close game.
The CUNYAC Championship is just the cherry on top of what has already been an extraordinary season for the Bulldogs. Finishing the season 21-3, the Bulldogs can also boast the CUNYAC Coach of the Year in Alex Lang, and the Player of the Year in Chanel Jemmott. Along with them, guards Gianna Gotti and Ericka James were named CUNYAC First-Team All Stars. Having vanquished the CUNYAC, Brooklyn will now go on to the National Tournament for a second straight season. Bulldog fans will watch with anticipation as Brooklyn’s opponent will be revealed Monday, Feb. 28.
Men’s Volleyball Team Loses Two, Fall To 3-6
By Owen Russell
It was a tough two previous games for the men’s volleyball team. Traveling out to New Jersey for the NJCU Tri-match, Brooklyn dropped two games in one day on Feb. 20.
First squaring off against the host, New Jersey City University, the Bulldogs dropped the first two sets by double digits (25-15, 25-13). In danger of a sweep, Brooklyn battled tooth and nail to secure a tight victory in the third set (26-24). Coming off a strong third set, the Bulldogs were unable to capitalize on any sort of momentum and fell 25-9 in the fourth set, losing to NJCU 3-1 in sets. NJCU led Brooklyn in every statistical category, including aces, scoring 11 compared to Brooklyn’s one. Despite the loss, sophomore Admir Cekic earned 27 assists – eight more than NJCU’s leader.
In the second game of the day, Brooklyn squared off with Kean University. It was a rocky start for the Bulldogs. Kean rocked Brooklyn in the first set, trouncing them on their way to a 25-9 victory. After losing the first set, the Bulldogs did not recover, dropping the next two (25-18, 25-12). The Bulldogs yet again lost the Ace battle, as they were unable to secure a single Ace, while Kean earned 14. Coming out of the loss, junior Zhao Ming Li scored nine kills, leading the way for the Bulldogs.
Sitting at 3-6, the Bulldogs will face their first Conference rival of the season on Mar. 1, when they host Medgars Evers College.