Brooklyn, NY --- The Brooklyn College Men's Basketball team earned a hard fought overtime win against the Pioneers of William Paterson University on Tuesday night, 102-100, at the West Quad Center.

With the win, the Bulldogs even their overall record to 2-2 on the season; while the Pioneers suffer their first loss of the season to drop to 3-1 overall on the year.

The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 15 points, 49-34, with 2:30 left before the break, as the visitors used a 16-4 run to build their largest lead of the game. William Paterson would not score for the remainder of the half, as Brooklyn scored the final eight points of the period to cut its deficit back to single digits and head into the locker room down just by seven, 49-34.

Free throws played a key role to the Pioneers halftime advantage, as William Paterson connected on 14-of-18 from the line. The visitors also hit five three-pointers in the opening half.

William Paterson would once again build their advantage to double figures in the second half, leading by as many as 13 on a number of occasions. Following a pair of free throws from Bright Mensah that put the Pioneers up 67-57, the Bulldogs answered with an offensive flurry, scoring eight straight points, capped off on a thunderous drunk from junior Jai Kellman that made it 67-65 with 11:21 left in the game.

BC continued to chip away at its deficit and eventually tied the game at 75-75 on a three from sophomore Egzon Gjonbalaj and would later take the lead on a three from Kellman to give the Bulldogs the lead at 78-75 with 6:48 remaining on the clock. It was Brooklyn's first lead since the first half when the Bulldogs led 26-24 at the 8:44 mark.

Both teams would continue to trade baskets down the stretch, as the game seemed destined to head to overtime. After a jumper from junior Valon Djombalic that tied the game at 87 all with just 34 seconds left, the Pioneers would have one last shot to end the game in regulation. However, the last second three-pointer would not fall, as the game headed into the extra frame.

William Paterson began the overtime period scoring the first four points; however, the Bulldogs would answer with back-to-back threes from Kellman and Gjonbalaj to take the lead, 93-91. The Pioneers tied the game at 93 all; however, BC would retake the lead on three straight free throws from sophomore Jamel Gist. The Bulldogs would never trail again, as Brooklyn would hold off William Paterson for the thrilling 102-100 overtime win.

Egzon Gjonbalaj scored a team-high 24 points, to go along with six rebounds, six assists, three blocks and three steals to fill up the stat sheet. Junior Edon Gjonbalaj added a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds coming off the bench, while classmate Valon Djombalic also registered a double-double with 18 points and game-high 17 rebounds, to go with four blocks and three steals. Kellman finished with 20 points, Gist chipped in with 14 points.

The Pioneers were paced by Javae King-Gilchrist's game-high 31 points, to go with eight assists and seven rebounds. Jaques Conciecao added 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Mensah and Sandy Burgos contributed with 14 points apiece.

For the game, the Bulldogs shot 51.4% (37-72) from the field and 47.1 (8-17) from beyond the arc. BC also shot 62.5% (20-32) from the free throw line. Brooklyn also out-rebounded William Paterson, 49-39.

William Paterson shot 44.7% (34-76) from the field and 35.0% (7-20) from three.  The Pioneers made the most of their free throw opportunities, converting 78.1% (25-32) from the charity stripe.

Brooklyn returns to action on Wednesday, December 4th as the Bulldogs will play host to Vaughn College. The game is scheduled for a 6:00 pm start time at the West Quad Center.