Old Westbury, NY --- The Brooklyn College Men's Basketball team suffered an 81-70 loss on the road against the Panthers of SUNY College at Old Westbury at the Clark Athletic Center on Wednesday night.

With the loss, BC falls to 2-6 overall on the year; while Old Westbury improves to 6-2 overall on the season.

The first half saw two ties and two lead changes. Following a three-pointer from BC's Dennis Balsam that gave the Bulldogs an early 9-5 lead with 13:25 in the opening half, the Panthers would rattle off 11 straight points to pull ahead by seven, 16-9, midway through the first half at the 10:03 mark of the half.

Old Westbury would never trail again, as the home team would lead by as many as 10 in the opening period, 27-17, en route to taking a 27-22 halftime lead into the locker room.

The Bulldogs would continue to chip away at its deficit throughout the second half, as the visitors would once again trail by double figures. BC would eventually get within two, 54-52, after a three-pointer from freshman Harry Hazan at the 7:05 mark of the second half. Hazan's three capped off a 10-1 run to get Brooklyn back into the game.

However, the Panthers would keep the visitors at arm's length, as Old Westbury would  again rebuild its advantage to double digits, leading by as many as 14, 69-55, with just 2:25 remaining on the clock. The home team would go on to cruise to its 81-70 win.

For the game, BC shot 34.3% (24-70) from the field and just 17.6% (3-17) from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs also converted 70.4% (19-27) from the free throw line.

Old Westbury shot 41.0% (25-61) from the field and 30.8% (4-13) from three. The Panthers also shot 71.1% (27-38) from the charity stripe.

Sophomore Egzon Gjonbalaj led Brooklyn with 18 points and seven rebounds coming off the bench, while junior Jai Kellman finished with 16 points. Sophomore Jamel Gist was also in double figures with 10 points, to go with nine rebounds, while classmate Nicholas Grasso chipped in with seven points and nine rebounds. Hazan ended the night with nine points, to go with six assists. Junior Justin Staton grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

Old Westbury was paced by Tyrik Tucker's game-high 23 points. Tucker also added nine rebounds and five assists to his line. Floyd LeRoy recorded a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds; while Al Alexander also added 13 points coming off the bench. Omari Trebuse contributed with 11 points.

Brooklyn will return to action this Friday, December 13th, as the Bulldogs will play host to borough and conference rival Medgar Evers College. The game is scheduled for a 7:15 pm tip off at the West Quad Center.