• Box Score

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Jan. 14, 2012) - Junior Azel Prather Jr. (Glenarden, Md.) posted a game-high 20 points to help NYIT men's basketball defeat Dowling 83-69 Saturday afternoon in East Coast Conference action. Prather Jr. nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds. With the win, the Bears improved to 2-3 in league play and 5-9 overall. 

Junior Dominic Scurry (Ozone Park, N.Y.) chipped in with 18 points and a game-high four assists, and senior Jahari McKnight (El Sobrante, Calif.) had 17 points and four assists. As a team, the Bears out-shot the Golden Lions (4-9, 0-4 ECC) 55.6% to 36.% from behind the arc. Rebounding for both teams was tied at 31 each. 

For Dowling, Corwin Austin led with 15 points, John Merchant added 12 points and Justin Alexander had 10 points.

After battling through four ties, the Bears went on an 8-2 run to claim a 24-18 with 9:55 to play. Although Dowling rallied back to bring the score within one 27-26, NYIT responded with a layup by Prather Jr. to spark another 8-2 run to push the Bears lead to 35-28 with 5:45 to play. However, the Golden Lions did not give up and with a three-pointer by Austin they earned a two-point edge 37-35 with 1:47 left. Yet, a jumper from Scurry knotted the score and a jumper from Russell Holloway (Budd Lake, N.J.) gave the Bears a 39-37 lead at halftime.

NYIT continued its momentum in the second half and climbed to a 17-point edge, 67-50, on free throws by Scurry with 7:56 to play. Despite efforts by the Golden Lions to cut the gap, the Bears maintained a double-digit advantage and held on for the 83-69 win.