(Valhalla, NY) - Considering that the outcome was very much in doubt until the last 10 seconds of play, the five-member sophomore class for the Westchester Community College Men's Basketball team had little time to comprehend the magnitude of the win that would mark the final game of their Westchester CC Basketball career. During perhaps the most physically draining, mentally demanding game of the 2019-2020 season, facing a powerhouse Nassau Community College program that entered the week ranked #3 in the NJCAA, the Viking sophomore class not only saved their best effort for their career finale, the willed their team past the finish line, notching an incredible upset win.

Sophomore James Brady (Yonkers, NY/Mount St. Michael) recorded his second career double-double, a 14-point, 10-rebound masterpiece, to go with four assists, and fellow sophomore Anthony Monti (Bronx, NY/St. Raymond's) scored a game-high 20 points, and added five assists, as the Vikings survived a slug-fest with visiting Nassau, 74-69 on Thursday night in front of a packed Viking Gymnasium. With the win, Westchester finishes the 2019-2020 campaign with a 20-8 record, including two wins against teams ranked #3 in the NJCAA at the time of the game.

While Brady and Monti enjoyed tremendous efforts on the offensive end, it was the Westchester defense down the stretch that allowed the Vikings to score the upset win. A Nassau lay-up with 6:14 remaining tied the score at 63. However, from there, the Lions (21-6) managed only a single field goal the rest of the way, thanks to a stellar Westchester defensive effort down the stretch.

While the Viking defense took over, the game still remained close. A three-pointer by Monti with 1:41 to play put Westchester ahead 71-69. After the teams traded missed three-pointers, freshman Malik Moore (Tuckahoe, NY/Tuckahoe HS) was fouled, and converted one free throw attempt with 21 seconds to play to extend the lead to three points. As the clock wound down, the Westchester defense forced an off-balanced three-point attempt by Nassau that missed the rim, and went out of bounds, giving the Vikings the ball with eight seconds to play. A Nassau technical foul after the play gave Monti two free throw attempts, and the sophomore converted both to ice the game.
 
Overall, it was a back-and-forth affair from start to finish. An early 9-0 run gave Nassau a 15-8 lead with 12:51 to play in the first half, but Westchester battled back with a 9-0 run of their own to take a 17-15 lead three minutes later. The game was tied 19-19 with 8:37 to play in the opening stanza, but Westchester again scored nine straight points to make it 28-19 after a Moore three-pointer with 6:42 to play until halftime. Nassau battled back, however, scoring 12 of the final 15 points of the first half to cut the deficit to 33-31 at the break.

Westchester dominated the first 5:18 of the second half, outscoring Nassau 16-9 to increase their lead to 49-40, but the Lions went on a 10-1 run to tie the score at 50 with 11:39 to play. However, from there, the remainder of the game was simply wild as neither team led by more than five points, and the final 10 minutes featured four ties and three lead changes, during a game that had 10 ties and eight lead changes.

Aside from the offensive heroics from Monti and Brady, Moore had 15 points and seven rebounds, while Noe Fleurimond (Greenburgh, NY/Woodlands HS) added 13 points and seven rebounds.

Both teams shot 40% for the game, and the Lions used a significant height advantage to gain a 49-38 edge on the boards. However, Westchester committed a season-low eight turnovers, compared to 18 for Nassau, leading to an 18-6 advantage in points off of turnovers, and giving the Vikings enough of an edge to secure the victory.

The 2019-2020 campaign is now over for Westchester Community College, but after outscoring opponents during a game 63 times over the last three seasons, and with a terrific young nucleus set to return for the 2020-2021 season, a deep playoff run is very much on the radar for the Vikings as they look ahead to next season.