Coming into the game, Mousa Sinera was averaging 12.0 rebounds per game. Now he's averaging 13.5. Medgar Evers athletics file photo

The Medgar Evers men's basketball team was edged out by Hunter on Tuesday night, but the Cougars kept pace due in no small part to the eye-popping number of rebounds hauled in by Cougars senior Mousa Sinera, breaking a single-game rebound mark first set 47 years ago.

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Sinera ended up with 43 rebounds on the night, in a 128-123 overtime loss to Hunter. The senior, who came into the evening needing 64 rebounds to reach 1,000 for his career, took a huge step in doing so, as he set an NCAA Division III single-game record with his 43 boards. The previous mark of 36 rebounds was shared by Mark Veenstra, who did it for Calvin against Colorado State-Pueblo in 1976, and was matched by Clinton Montford of Methodist who did so against Warren Wilson in 1989.

Sinera broke the record late in regulation, when he picked up his 37th board off a missed 3-point attempt by Casey Meyers with 4:41 to play. He finished regulation with 38 rebounds and added five more in the overtime.

Remarkably, Sinera came within 10 rebounds of the all-time NCAA record, which was set by Jim Roberts, as he snatched a whopping 53 boards for Sewanee against Lambuth in February of 1958, before there was an NCAA Division III.

In addition to Sinera's 43 boards on the evening, he also registered a game-high 15 assists while netting six points. Jacob Green knocked down 10 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 35 points for Medgar Evers, which fell to 5-16, 1-9 in the City University of New York Athletic Conference. Seven players scored in double figures for Hunter (8-12, 5-5 CUNYAC), as the Hawks were led by the fantastic effort of Luka Jakic. The standout scored a team-high 23 points, including 9-for-11 from the foul line, to go along with a team-high 18 rebounds.