Men’s Basketball Battles Out Close Win Against Manhattan
Garden City, NY) On Saturday, Men's Basketball hosted Manhattan Community College at home. The Panthers are currently in 3rd place in the region at 8-6. Nassau jumped out to an early 6-0 lead with 2 back to back three pointers by Darius Young. Manhattan responded going on a run and scoring 7 straight points to take a one point lead. The two teams battled back and forth. With 14:57 left in the half, Nassau led by 8 points making the score 15-7. Manhattan went on a run of their own outscoring Nassau 13-2 to take a 20-17 lead with 11:37 left on the clock. The score went back and forth for the reminder of the half with no team having more than a 3 point lead. Cheyenne Nettleton tallied 14 points, while teammate Stephen Moncrieffe recorded 12, including two breakaway dunks. Going into halftime, the Lions and Panthers were tied 41-41. The battle back and forth continued in the second half. Both teams traded baskets for the first 16 minutes. The Panthers took a 4 point lead with a little more than 3 minutes left in the game, making the score 66-62. Nassau rallied to tie the score at 67 with 5 consecutive free throws by Nettleton and Darius Young. Manhattan's Ashan Adams hit a jumper with 1:15 left keeping the Lions on their toes. Nettleton hit 2 free throws to again tie the game at 69 with only a minute left. With 30 seconds left, Young and Matthew Trepeta forced a turnover by Quran Dublin. This led to a steal and uncontested layup by Young to put the Lions ahead for good finishing 71-69. The Panthers made a last second 3 pointer attempt but fell short crowning NCC victorious. Head Coach AJ Wynder commented after the game that, "The team showed a lot of heart down the stretch in a tight, competitive contest. I'm looking forward to taking this into post season play next month." Standout players of the game were Cheyenne Nettleton who knocked down 23 points. He was 7-12 from the field. Darius Young tallied 19 points, while Stephen Moncrieffe recorded 16 points and 8 rebounds. Next up Nassau will travel to Suffolk Community College on Thursday. The Lions currently stand at 18-7 overall and 11-2 in the conference.