(Valhalla, NY) - Less than 24 hours after a season-opening victory at the Westchester Tip-Off that saw things come together in a seemingly easy fashion, the Westchester Community College Men's Basketball team learned on Saturday that there are going to be games they have to grind out if the 2019-2020 campaign is going to be a success. While the Vikings led the game wire-to-wire, at no point did visiting Hostos Community College back down, making the closing minutes a battle to the finish for both teams. Ultimately, the Vikings made just enough plays and hit free throws at the right time to secure their second victory in as many days, 81-75 over the visiting Caimans.

For the second consecutive game, Westchester got off to a fast start as the Vikings scored the first seven points of the game. Up 12-7 with 15:44 to play in the first half, the Vikings scored eight straight points to make it a 20-7 game. Later, a 10-0 Viking run gave the hosts a 37-21 lead, and it seemed like Westchester was poised to cruise to victory yet again. However, Hostos had a lot to say about that.

The Caimans made a seven point game with one minute to play before halftime, but a Justin Mazyck (Bronx, NY/Stevenson HS) three-pointer with 29 seconds to play in the opening stanza pushed the Westchester lead back to double-digits.

The second half saw Hostos tighten their defense, forcing several Westchester turnovers. Combined with a tough day at the free throw line for the Vikings (16 for 28), and Hostos was able to chip away at the Westchester lead. With 16:08 remaining, a Caiman basket made it a 47-43 game, but a Daniel Barrera (Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton HS) lay-up stopped the Hostos run. Later in the second half, a 10-2 Viking run made it 63-48 with 10:19 to play, but a 13-3 Hostos run made it 71-67 with 4:44 to play.

Later, four straight Hostos points made it a 78-75 game with less than a minute to play, but Barrera and Anthony Monti (Bronx, NY/St. Raymond's) converted three out of four free throws in the final 15 seconds to secure the victory.

Barrera had a second straight huge game, scoring 23 points, to go with six rebounds, while sophomore Joe Zayer (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South HS) added 15 points, and Malik Moore (Tuckahoe, NY/Tuckahoe HS) chipped in 12.

However, it was the inspired play of freshman Noe Fleurimond (Greenburgh, NY/Woodlands HS) that made perhaps the biggest impact. Fleurimond scored eight points, but also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, and blocked two shots during an outstanding all-around effort. Also for Westchester, Mazyck had nine points, three rebounds, and two blocked shots.

Both teams shot 40% for the game, and Westchester's 54-43 rebounding edge overcame 27 Viking turnovers, compared to only 19 for Hostos.

Westchester CC returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 5 when the Vikings travel to Bergen Community College for a 7:00 p.m. start.