The 2013 CUNYAC/Con Edison Community College Men’s Basketball Semifinals finished up with two upsets as the#3 Bronx Broncos will take on the #4 Queensborough Tigers in the Finals this Friday at Borough of Manhattan Community College. For Queensborough, it is an opportunity to win their first title since 2003. For the Broncos, it is an opportunity to three-peat as CUNYAC Champions.
#4 Queensborough Tigers 67, #1 Hostos Caimans 61 (OT) – Boxscore
This was no ordinary matchup but one with a history. Queensborough Head Coach Robert Holford was once the head coach at Hostos and helped build the program with a National Championship in the 2004-05 season. He would now try to best his former team as the underdog.
“I put them in a position to answer the call and they did,” said Queensborough Head Coach Robert Holford. “The playoffs are a whole different world. You learn from your wins and more importantly you learn from your losses.”
CUNYAC/Con Edison Rookie of the Year Tyree White tried to set the tone early with a steal followed by a Chad Coachman three pointer. Queensborough would have none of it as they strengthened their defense and held the higher powered Caimans to just 5 points in the first five minutes. In that same timeframe, Queensborough scored just two points during the same span leaving the score at 5-2 with 15:27 left in the first half.
The game quickly became a back and forth battle with Queensborough tying it on a three by Troy Singleton and then quickly losing falling behind on free throws by Coachman, a First-Team All-Star. Each team would take their share of the lead over the next few minutes until a 12-3 run by Queensborough gave them a commanding 24-15 lead with a little under three minutes to play. The half ended with more point for point action to end the half at 32-21 Queensborough looking for the upset on the back of balanced scoring by Fiyifoluwa Ojugbele, Dwayne Brydie, and Andrew McFarlane with 8, 7, and 6 points, respectively. Coachman led the Caiman assault with 11 points including 1-2 from beyond the arc.
With two more scores, Queensborough expanded the lead to 15, the largest it would be for the rest of the night as the comeback began. The Nationally Ranked Caimans showed their adversity with a 7-2 run to bring them back into the game followed shortly thereafter by another 7-2 run that brought the Caimans within two. The Caimans finally tied the Tigers with 5:18 left in the game. From there the game was back and forth with fouls and timeouts making every second count. In the end, a few key shots and a few key free throws led to a 56-55 lead with four seconds remaining. At that point, Troy Singleton of Queensborough made one free throw to force overtime.
In overtime, it came down to the timely scoring and discipline. Hostos started off the scoring but two more free throws by Troy Singleton and a clutch three pointer by Carl Benjamin gave QCC the momentum and ultimately the victory 67-61. For his clutch play and strong defense against Coachman, Carl Benjamin was awarded the CUNYAC/Con Edison Player of the Game Award.
The win puts Queensborough in the Final for the first time since 2009 with an opportunity to win its first title since 2003. The Tigers currently rank second all time in CUNYAC Championships with six.
#3 Bronx Broncos 76, #2 BMCC Panthers 59 – Boxscore
The #3 Broncos from the Bronx defeated the #2 BMCC Panthers with a strong second half to advance to the finals versus #4 Queensborough. With the victory, Bronx has earned the opportunity to three-peat as CUNYAC Champions only this time their head coach is Sean Kelly. They currently have four championships all-time.
“They got us twice this year,” said Bronx Head Coach Sean Kelly. “They do a real good job controlling tempo and this time we just looked to play more of our game.”
The first half was about as back and forth as it could be with 12 lead changes and no lead exceeding five points. Every point received an answer by the opposition. Two players in particular appeared to be going toe to toe; Ronald Washington of Bronx and Taishaun Jenkins from the Panthers. The CUNYAC/Con Edison Second-Team All-Star, Washington, scored 15 in the half including the last score to put the Broncos back on top. Jenkins, also a second-teamer, played well from beyond the arc as he hit three from back there to bring him to 15 points for the half.
Postseason experience would show in the second half as the Broncos pulled away quickly and did not look back. Within the first three minutes, Bronx had increased their lead by three to sit the score at 40-36. Over the next two minutes, the lead jumped to nine. After a 7-0 run, the lead jumped to double digits at 52-40. Another significant run of 9-0 over a three and a half minute span would all but seal the victory for the Broncos. BMCC started chipping away at the lead with a 10-3 lead but with only two minutes left, the pressure was on and Bronx got on another run of their own to bump their lead back to 19 with just 27 seconds left on the clock. As time expired, BMCC scored a final layup to bring the game to 76-59.
BMCC’s Taishaun Jenkins and First-Team All-Star Valon Djombalic lead the way for the Panthers. Jenkins scored 27, grabbed nine boards, and compiled four steals while Djombalic scored 10 while grabbing nine rebounds and blocking two shots.
For the Broncos it was a trio of double digit scorers with CUNYAC/Con Edison Player of the Game Washington leading the way at 30 points. Player of the Year Ronnell Ross chipped in with 14 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks while First-Team All-Star Derrick Fernandez racked up 14 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists.
