New York, NY - The City College of New York men's basketball team earned a statement victory Friday, defeating Baruch College, 69-63 on the road. Senior Yassine Sakhi highlighted the evening, tying the CCNY men's basketball program's all-time scoring record with 1,736 career points.
With the win, the Beavers earn their fourth straight victory and improve to 13-7 overall and 6-3 in CUNY Athletic Conference play.
Entering the contest ten points shy of etching his name atop of the record books, he tallied six of his 10 points in the second half. With under a minute left in regulation, Sakhi drew a foul with 42 seconds remaining and netted back-to-back free throws to reach the historic milestone. Sakhi also added six rebounds, four assists, and a career-high four blocks to help lead the Beavers to the win.
"I'm extremely honored and blessed to be able to tie the all-time scoring record and represent CCNY with this accomplishment, said Sakhi." "This was a great battle tonight, and I'm proud of my teammates and our program to pull out this win."
He now shares the all-time scoring title with Richie Silvera '78.
Junior Edward Beqiri finished the night with a game-high 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and five steals. Sophomore Justin Morety made his first start for the Beavers, posting a season-high 17 points, three rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Sophomore Ricardo Dixon collected his 11th double-double of the season, producing 12 points and a career-high 22 rebounds.
Sophomore Kayson Dinkins added six points and three rebounds off the bench, while junior Elijah Patterson finished the night with four points and four rebounds.
The Beavers started the game strong, holding a 10-point lead (14-4) over the Bearcats midway through the opening half (10:47).
Trailing by eight points with 8:39 left in the half, Baruch closed the gap behind a 10-2 scoring run, evening the game 21-21 with 4:15 to go.
In the second, CCNY trailed for much of the period before sparking a 13-6 run to regain the lead, 49-48, with 8:11 remaining. Sakhi's record-setting free throws inside the last minute pushed the Beavers to a nine-point lead, their largest lead of the half, to close out the night with a 69-63 victory.
The Beavers out-rebounded the Bearcats 49-34 in the contest, tying for the second-highest recorded this season.
Next, the Beavers travel to take on York College on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 7:00 p.m.
