In a battle of nationally-ranked teams, the No. 10 Monroe Community College men's basketball team outlasted No. 16 Genesee Community College on Saturday afternoon, 68-66.
The Cougars jumped in front early, scoring the first seven points of the game. Freshman Joshua Doughty was responsible for five of the seven, connecting on a 3-point basket and adding a layup.
Monroe quickly closed the gap and held the lead late in the first half before GCC ended the frame on a 7-2 run to take a 35-32 advantage into the break.
The Tribunes began the second half on a 6-2 stretch and took back the lead, not allowing it back to Genesee the remainder of the afternoon.
The Cougars were able tie the game at 51 apiece with just under eight-minutes to play, but MCC responded by going on a 9-0 run to regain momentum.
Down six with under two-minutes to play, Doughty got GCC back to within three after connecting on his second 3-point basket of the afternoon and after a defensive stop, Ervin Mitchell hit one of two free-throws to make it a 66-64 game with under a minute to go. The Cougars again came away with a defensive hold and Didier Antoine notched the game at 66 apiece with a layup with 19-seconds on the clock.
After an MCC timeout, the Tribunes looked to Anthony Hemmingway who connected on a jumper with 2.3 seconds left to put MCC in front 68-66. A last second look for GCC was unsuccessful, and Monroe sent Genesee to its second Western New York Athletic Conference (WNYAC) loss of the season.
Naquil Jones scored a team-high 14 points for GCC, Mitchell added 13 points and six boards, Antoine finished with 11 points and seven rebounds and Doughty added nine points and eight rebounds.
Genesee falls to 1-2 in conference play and 13-4 overall on the season. The Cougars will return to action on the road on Jan. 22 at Erie Community College. Start time is set for 7:30 p.m.
The No. 6 Monroe Community College women's basketball team was too much for Genesee to handle on Saturday afternoon as the Tribunes powered their way to a 96-36 Western New York Athletic Conference (WNYAC) win at GCC.
The Cougars were led in scoring by Breana Gleaton who finished with seven points. Shanell Glover and Thais Matté each added six and Glover also grabbed six rebounds.
Monroe was successful on half of its shots from the field in the game and was plus-22 in rebounding.
GCC committed 26 turnovers and shot just better than 21-percent from the floor.
Genesee (0-3, 9-7) has now lost three straight and the Cougars will take the floor again on Jan. 22 at Erie Community College. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
