The SUNY Old Westbury men's basketball team carried a lead into the final 11 minutes of play this evening from the Hunter College Sportsplex, but was unable to hold on to secure the victory. The loss sets the Panthers at 1-6 on the season while the Hawks improved to 1-6.

Old Westbury opened the contest on an 8-0 run with a jumper from Jermaine King Jr., back-to-back layups from Imole Akinwale, and a layup from Joel Ofori. Midway through the first half, the Hawks had worked the score within one, 17-16, with a three-pointer from Demetrios Kontos kicking off an 11-2 run to give the home team a 24-19 lead with five minutes to play. The Panthers responded by scoring the next seven points, reclaiming the lead, 26-24. Back-to-back three-pointers from Tyseer Rahman gave Old Westbury some cushion with a seven-point lead, 32-25, headed into the final two minutes. The Hawks mounted a stand in the final 71 seconds, scoring six unanswered points to make it a one-point game at the break.

Scoring four of the opening six points of the second half, Hunter claimed a brief lead at 35-34. Three points from Ofori would put Old Westbury back ahead before a three-pointer from King made it 41-36. Not to be outdone, Hunter's Sloan Ireland hit a three-pointer of his own before John Paul Maaba later tied the contest at 43. Field goals from Yigit Balta and Ofori gave a four-point advantage to the Panthers. The Hawks mounted a 9-2 run to lead 52-49 leaded into the final 10 minutes of the contest. Old Westbury would come within one, 52-51, but a 16-7 run from Hunter gave the home team a lead that was too large to overcome. 

Ofori led with a game-high 23 points, going 10-of-16 from the field, to go with six rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. Akinwale followed with 16 points, adding two steals. Bradley Young netted eight points while King and Balta both added seven. King led with four assists while Young added three to go with four steals. 

The Panthers will host Connecticut College on December 6 at 1:00 p.m.