Brooklyn, NY ---- The Brooklyn College Men's Basketball team dropped its non-conference game tonight, against the Panthers of the SUNY College at Old Westbury, by a score of 81-70. With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 0-3 overall on the young season, while the Panthers improve to 2-1 overall on the year.

Senior forward Kavon Baker paced the BC offense with a team-high 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field, while dishing out eight assists. Classmate forward Jeffrey Noel added 14 points, while senior forward Steven Grant contributed with 13 points coming off the bench. Freshman guard Shayne Martinez had a solid all around game with seven points, a team-leading seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

The Panthers had four starters in double figures, led by Josh Hill's game-high 26 points, to go along with a game-best eight rebounds. Kerel Mitchell added 21 points, while Rashawn MacCarthy chipped in with 15 points and seven rebounds and Joshua Bailly finished the night with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Following a three-pointer from junior Maurice Holden to get the scoring started, the Panthers took full control of the game exploding out on a 32-5 run to take a 24-point lead, 32-8, with 8:28 left in the first half. Brooklyn would not go down without a fight however, as the Bulldogs showed their grit and determination in battling back. BC would use a 21-6 run to eventually cut their deficit down to single digits, 38-29, as the teams headed into the halftime break. Noel and Grants combined for 14 of the 21 points in the run.

Brooklyn would continue to attempt to claw their way back into the game throughout the second half; however, the Panthers would have an answer for every BC run. The Bulldogs would eventually get to within seven points, 54-47, on a jumper from Holden with 9:55 remaining in the game. However, that's as close as the home team would get, as Old Westbury would rebuild its lead back into double digits, eventually going on to take the 81-70 victory.

For the game, BC shot 40.0% (28-70) from the field and 18.5% (5-27) from three. The Bulldogs also shot 60.0% (9-15) from the foul line. Old Westbury shot 51.7% (31-60) from the field and 31.6% (6-19) from beyond the arc. The Panthers also shot 76.5% (13-17) from the free throw line.

Old Westbury held the rebounding edge 40-36 and outscored BC 42-30 in the paint.

Brooklyn returns to action on Saturday, December 1st, as the Bulldogs will open City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) play against reigning conference champion College of Staten Island. The Dolphins are coming off a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 pm at the CSI Sports Complex in Staten Island, NY.