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OLD WESTBURY, NY (www.oldwestburypanthers.com) – The SUNY College at Old Westbury men's basketball team outscored the visiting NYU-Poly Fighting Blue Jays 25-16 over the final 8:30 to notch a 75-66 victory at home on Wednesday evening. Old Westbury improves to 18-6 overall and 16-3 against the Skyline Conference while NYU-Poly dipped to 4-20 and 2-17, respectively. 

Old Westbury jumped out to a 13-4 lead, thanks to Lester Prosper (6 points) and Bill Reese (5 points) with 16:19 remaining on the first half clock. Alexander Westphal scored four of NYU-Poly's seven points in a 7-0 return to knot the game at 13 at the 12:29 mark. Old Westbury never trailed in the half as NYU-Poly tied the game on three occasions in the opening 20 minutes. The Panthers built their first half lead up to six off a fast break layup by Bill Reese with 1:16 left. NYU-Poly sank 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the last minute to cut the deficit down as Old Westbury took a 32-29 lead into the locker room at halftime. 

NYU-Poly wasted no time erasing the halftime deficit, as the Fighting Blue Jays came out of the break on a 6-1 run to take their first lead of the game. NYU-Poly held the lead from 18:29 to 8:30, leading by as many as five points. Hakiem George knocked down a three-ball, putting Old Westbury up 53-50. After shooting 1-for-6 in the first half, Kristopher Afum lit it up in the second, hitting 4-of-6 from the floor, including three triples down the stretch to help grow the lead to 10 points. 

Lester Prosper finished the game with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 from the line, while also pulling down 14 boards and rejecting two shots. He was joined in double figures by two of his teammates, including 15 points and four steals from Kristopher Afum and 12 by Bill Reese. Hakiem George contributed seven points, six steals, five assists and five rebounds. Patrick Bonna chipped in with seven points, two blocked shots and two steals and Jason Kondra added four assists. Hilton Sneed and Frantz Granjean each registered five rebounds and one blocked shot. 

Myles Hinchcliffe went for a game-high 22 points, sinking six treys to go with five rebounds and three steals to lead NYU-Poly. Jason Buckner followed with 17 points and seven rebounds and Alexander Westphal posted a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 15 rebounds. Anthony Motolla had 12 points. 

The Panthers ended the night shooting 43.6 percent (24-of-55) from the field as NYU-Poly finished 37.3 percent (28-of-75). Old Westbury went 7-of-21 from three-point range and pulled down 41 rebounds on the game, and NYU-Poly went 7-of-19 from three-point land and grabbed 36 rebounds. Old Westbury cleaned 20 boards off the offensive glass and NYU-Poly had 10. Those 20 offensive rebounds for Old Westbury were turned into 19 points. Old Westbury converted 23 turnovers into 25 points while NYU-Poly turned 12 Panther miscues into 13 points. Old Westbury held a 15-5 margin in steals and edged the Fighting Blue Jays with a 15-14 assist margin 

SAGE NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury will remain at home to close out the regular season in Saturday's Skyline Conference matchup with the Sage Gators. Panthers and Fighting Blue Jays tip at 4 p.m. in Old Westbury, New York. Saturday marks the annual “Senior Game”, where Kristopher Afum, Patrick Bonna, Shane DeNully, Hakiem George and Bill Reese will be honored prior to tip-off for their dedication to Old Westbury Athletics in their final regular season game as a Panther. Please visit www.oldwestburypanthers.com for more information on men's basketball or any of the other Panther athletic teams.