Jamaica, NY --- The Brooklyn College Men's Basketball team edged out the Cardinals of York College, 81-80, to pick up a key City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) victory on Monday night in Jamaica, NY. With the win, BC improves to 6-12 overall and 4-6 in the CUNYAC, while York drops to 8-11 overall and 4-6 in conference play.

Following a jumper from York's Jose Arroyo that put the home team up 80-78 with 49 seconds left in the game, the Bulldogs came down and answered with a layup from Jeffrey Noel to tie the game at 80 all with 23 ticks left on the clock. Noel was fouled on the play and would go to the line with the chance to put BC ahead. Noel would calmly convert his free throw opportunity and put the Bulldogs up by one, 81-80.

York had one final opportunity to snatch back the lead and take the game; however, the Brooklyn defense would clamp down in the final 20 seconds, as the Cardinals would not get a shot off.

Brooklyn began the game on a quick 5-0 run, fueled by a three-pointer from Egzon Gjonbalaj and a jumper from Maurice Holden.  BC would lead by as many as eight on two occasions (10-2 and 12-4), before York began to chip away at its deficit and would take a brief, 22-20, lead on a three-pointer from Donald Rodriguez with 10:53 remaining in the first half.

Kavon Baker answered with a three of his own to put BC back up, 23-22, before Arroyo tied the game again at 23 all. The Bulldogs would then score the next six points to go up 29-23 with 9:13 remaining before the halftime break. Brooklyn would never trail in the rest of the half, BC would go up by double figures and as many as 16, 52-36, before taking a 52-39 lead into the halftime break.

The Bulldogs used a hot shooting hand to build their halftime cushion, as BC shot 61.3% (19-31) from the field, including going 8-for-13 (61.5%) from beyond the arc. Brooklyn also went 6-for-7 (85.7%) from the line.

Brooklyn would continue to lead by double figures before York began its comeback attempt. Trailing by 16, 68-52, with 13:08 left in the game, the Cardinals outscored the Bulldogs 22-5 over the next nine minutes to retake the lead, 74-73, with 3:52 remaining in the game.

The final four minutes would feature a seesaw battle with five ties and three lead changes, setting up Noel's eventual game-winning three-point play.

Baker once again led Brooklyn in scoring with 20 points, to go with five rebounds and three assists. Gjonbalaj, the reigning CUNYAC Rookie of the Week, continued his solid play with 18 points and six rebounds, while Noel also finished with 18 points and a team-high seven rebounds coming off the bench. Steven Grant chipped in with nine points and six rebounds, while Holden dished out six assists.

Rodriguez led all scorers with 28 points, to go with eight rebounds for York. Shamir Wilkinson finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Du'Quan Lawson contributed with 11 points.

Brooklyn will be back in action on Wednesday, January 30th as the Bulldogs will play host to borough rival Medgar Evers College in another key CUNYAC tilt. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 pm at the West Quad Center.