February 10, 2023

Valhalla, NY – The WCC Men's Basketball team struggled early in their 2^nd meeting of the year versus Essex on Thursday.  As the Wolverines continued to convert 3 pointers to the tune of 10 for 15 before the half, the Vikings fell behind and were unable to close the gap.  Though the team made key adjustments to Essex's attack to clamp down on their scoring, Westchester was unable to fully complete the comeback, falling 91-82, marking the 2^nd tough loss this year to the Region 19 school. 

The Wolverine scoring was early and often while the Vikings struggled to find their rhythm and convert on outside shots.  At the half, Essex held a commanding lead at 56-39.  As the 2^nd half continued, the Vikings were successful in preventing any further damage from outside the arc as Essex went 0-7 from three in the half.  However, the Wolverines did extend their lead by as much as 20 points with 15 minutes left in the game.

That is when the Vikings went to work with Ed Beqiri (Yonkers, NY/Archbishop Stepinac HS) and Omar Nkonde (Harlem, NY/Thurgood Marshall HS) leading the team on a 31-14 run over the next 13 minutes to cut the lead to just 4 with 1:35 to go.  With time winding down though a few key stops by Essex and turnovers provided the space the Wolverines needed as they hit six free throws in the final seconds. Nkonde scored a team high 27 points to go with 12 rebounds and 6 assists, while Beqiri notched 26 with 12 boards himself.  

With the loss the Vikings fall to 11-14 overall and 3-4 within Region 15.  They return to action on Saturday, February 11th at 3pm as they travel to Suffolk Community College for a non-region matchup.