New York, NY - In their first home game of the season, The City College of New York men's basketball team took down the Cairn University Highlanders, 73-63, in front of a high-energy crowd at the Nat Holman Gymnasium Monday night. The Beavers ushered in their second-straight victory, improving to 4-4 overall while snapping the Highlanders' five-game unbeaten straight (5-3).
The Beavers came out of the gates strong, jumping to a nine-point lead, 11-2, nearly six minutes (14:10) into the contest. A 7-3 scoring run by CCNY midway through the first half helped the Beavers build up an 11-point cushion (18-7) with 8:42 to go in the period. The Highlanders chipped into CCNY's lead, outscoring the Beavers 11-6 to cut their deficit to single digits, 26-21, with 4:20 remaining.
The Beavers responded strongly on the defensive end, holding Cairn to only three points in the final four minutes while connecting on five of their last nine shots to close out the half with a 13-point lead, 37-24.
In the second half, the Beavers continued to control the game, as a 10-6 run pushed CCNY to a 17-point lead; their largest lead of the game with 16:21 to go in the half.
Back-to-back three-pointers and a successful free throw attempt by the Highlander helped shave CCNY's lead to five points (50-45) with under 10 minutes left.
In the game's final stretch, the Beavers built up a 15-point lead with 3:17 left in regulations, fueled by a 16-3 scoring run, helping seal the game for CCNY en route to a 74-63 win a home.
A trio of players in double figures led the Beavers to the win. Junior
Yassine Sakhi poured in a game-high 22 points and seven rebounds, shooting 8-for-15 from the field. Senior
Daniel Piszczatowski posted 20 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Sophomore
Bayame Bah had a season-high 10 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.
Senior
Dashaun Galloway finished with eight points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Junior
Amir Assani ended with seven points, nine points, and three assists. Freshman
Ricardo Dixon added four points and four rebounds, while classmate
Marcus Heron had three points and two steals.
The Beavers are back in action on Friday, Dec. 9, on the road against Trinity College at 6:00 p.m.
