2003-2004 CUNYAC / Con Edison Men's Basketball Semifinals

Hostos & Kingsborough Advance To Friday Finals

Brooklyn, NY - Top-seeded Hostos Community College (20-8) and #3 seeded Kingsborough Community College (11-13) advanced to the 2004 CUNYAC / Con Edison Men's Basketball Championship game with semifinal victories this evening at Kingsborough Community College. The stage is now set for the final, which will follow the women's championship game at Kingsborough Community College at 7:30 pm Friday night, February 20th. Hostos edged Manhattan Community College, 62- 56, in the first semifinal and Kingsborough got by Queensborough Community College (13-12) in the second contest.

In the opener, Hostos erased a 38-33 halftime deficit to defeat Manhattan (6-19) and advance to their second consecutive championship game. The Caimans erupted out of the locker room, outscoring the Panthers, 14-4, to grab a 47-42 lead with 13:23 remaining. Sophomore guard Alex Colon (Bronx, NY) gave Hostos their first lead of the contest at 43-42 after converting a jumper with 14:35 left. Hostos continued to build on their lead, as they scored the next eight points to extend their advantage to 51-42 with 8:20 left. Manhattan closed to within four points, 56-52, with 3:55 remaining as freshman center Tristan Johnson (Westingouse/Brooklyn, NY) scored four straight points, but Caiman's freshman George Cotal (Columbus/Bronx, NY) hit one of two free throws and sophomore center Marvin Lynch (John Jay/New York, NY) converted a dunk with 2:30 remaining to push the lead back to seven points at 59-52. The Panthers made one final charge, cutting the gap to just 59-56 on a pair of free throws by freshman Wade Williams (Gonzaga/Washington D.C.) with forty-seven seconds left. However, the Panthers committed a key turnover with a chance to cut the lead, and the Caimans hit three of four free throws to put the game away in the final seconds.

Lynch recorded a game-high 22 points and 15 rebounds and Cotal added 12 caroms for the Caimans. Williams and Alexander each scored 14 points for the Panthers.

"Gene [Carroll, BMCC head coach] is the dean of the league,” said Robert Holford, Hostos head coach. "He prepared his team for playoff basketball and they kept us at bay for most of the game. In the end we were able to beat them on the boards and clamp down a little more on defense and pull out the victory.”

Manhattan opened up a 27-18 lead with 8:28 remaining in the opening stanza behind 10 quick points by sophomore guard Greg Alexander (Christ the King/Queens, NY). Hostos responded with a 15-9 run to close the gap to just three points, 36-33, on a lay-up by sophomore guard Jamel Brown (Westinghouse/Brooklyn, NY) with just over a minute remaining, and were able to get within striking distance, 38-33, at halftime. Alexander finished with 14 points and Marvin Lynch led Hostos with 10 points in the half.

In the nightcap, Kingsborough built a 51-38 advantage early in the second half and were able to hold on for the victory. Trailing 51-38 early in the second half, Queensborough went on a 8-0 run to close within 51-46 with 15:50 remaining. However, the Wave answered with their own 8-0 run to re-claim a 13-point lead, 59-46, with 12:40 to play. The Tigers were able to close within four points at 81-77 with 2:14 remaining on a pair of free throws by Carl Emengo (Canarsie/Brooklyn, NY), but Pierre Narcisse (Madison/Brooklyn, NY) converted a three-point play with 2:05 to go to stem the tide.

"After losing last week by two points we didn't want to let them back in the game like we did last week,” said head coach Hassan Duncombe. "If our role players play like they are capable of, it should be a good game.”

Kingsborough raced out to a 22-13 lead at the 13:01 mark as sophomore guard Ronald Williams (Tilden/Brooklyn, NY) scored all eight of his first-half points for the Wave. The Tigers closed to within five points, 22-17, with 12:05 left, but Kingsborough answered with nine straight points to grab a 31-17 advantage with 10:03 remaining in the opening stanza. The Wave settled for a 46-35 halftime lead behind sophomore forward Thomas Finale (Kingsborough/Brooklyn, NY), who led all scorers with 13 points at the break.

Narcisse led Kingsborough with 24 points and 13 rebounds and Emengo led Queensborough with 19.

Hostos - Manhattan ( BOX SCORE )
Kingsborough - Queensborough ( BOX SCORE )