Aiddan Smith shooting the ball. Photo Credit: Christian Lyles.
Pandemonium: that’s the word to describe the Clark Athletic Center on Wednesday night. The Men’s Panthers basketball team picked up their first win of the season in front of a rowdy and supportive crowd. The Panthers defeated the St. Joseph’s University-Brooklyn Bears by a score of 76 to 74.
The game got off to a fast start. Panther Emmanuel Lemba found his stroke from the midrange. Then the Bears heated up and grabbed a big lead for most of the first half. The Panthers cut that lead down to eight points with a corner 3-pointer from Michael Obi before going into the locker rooms at halftime.
Credit: Christian Lyles.
In the second half, the Panthers fought back, outscoring the Bears 33 to 26. Old Westbury tied the game, sending it into overtime even after bright young point guard Amadi Lee-Kane fouled out. Jamari Williams and Chris Smith led the way to victory, scoring a combined 39 of the Panthers’ 76 points. Jordan Johnson-Radar also had 13 points for the Panthers. Evan Sirakis led the Bears in scoring with 19 points.
Free throws were clutched down the line of OT as the Panthers clashed in at the line every time. The Panthers won the game by out-rebounding the Bears 51 to 40.
Coach Bernard Tomlin was very pleased with the Panthers’ performance. “This team earned it tonight. We got stops on defense and had some timely baskets and when it came down to crunch time, the team came through big time. I’m definitely going to let the boys enjoy this one in the locker room.”
The locker room was very rowdy and everyone was so happy to get that first win of the season after struggling for 21 consecutive losing games. The team’s struggles were mainly because of injuries. Most of the Panthers are freshmen, which hasn’t helped the chemistry.
The Panthers lost to Mount Saint Mary College, 59-64, in the final road game of the season on Saturday, February 10. The Panthers will play Farmingdale State College at the Clark Center on Saturday, February 17 at noon.
