CUNYAC Sports: Basketball

Art by Nafissatou Yattassaye

Editor's Note: The Paper is not affiliated with CUNYAC. These reports are independent and meant to provide a recap of the games our reporter attends.

By Nafissatou Yattassaye

CUNYAC Sports Series 12/11 Recap: Basketball 

Thursday afternoon capped off the last game before the end of finals week on December 11th, where our CCNY women and men Beavers faced Hunter College in another double header matchup.

Our City College women Beavers picked up their second loss, after a 2-game-win streak, to a very gritty and hungry Hunter Hawks team. The Beavers shot 29.5%  from the field, 15.4% from the three-point line, and 55.6% from the free-throw line. The Hawks shot 50% from the field, 27.8% from three, and 62.9% from the free-throw line. CCNY’s shot selection wasn’t enough to stop this gritty team; however, what a great start to the 2025-2026 season the women Beavers had. Ashley Colon led the pack with 13 points, and Ashley Subervi contributed 10 points to assist the Beavers. The CCNY team is set to play next during the winter break, December 29th, at 5pm against De Sales University at the Nat Hollman gym.

Our City College men Beavers picked up their first win of the 2025-2026 season tournament against the Hunter Hawks. The Beavers shot 51.9 %  from the field, 26.7% from the three-point line, and 66.7% from the free-throw line. The Hawks shot 41.7% from the field, 30.8 % from three, and 58.8% from the free-throw line. This game was neck and neck, a battle on both, the offensive and defensive side of the floors that was well fought and won by the Beavers.  Senior Justin Morety led the pack with 24 points, along with Michael Bowman contributing 15 points, and Olabanjo Aborisade added an extra 11 points to the score board. The Beavers are set to play next against Division I Fairfield University, at 7pm on December 22nd, in Fairfield Connecticut.

CUNYAC Sports Series Weekend (12/5-12/7) Recap: Basketball 

This weekend was one jam-packed double header at Brooklyn College. The weekend started off on December 5th, when our CCNY women's and men's Beavers faced Brooklyn College on Friday evening.

Our City College women's team picked up their first loss, after a 2-game win streak, to a back-to-back CUNYAC championship team, the Brooklyn Bulldogs. The Beavers shot 9.3%  from the field, 10% from the three-point line, and 50% from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs shot 37.2 % from the field, 13% from three and 62.7% from the free throw line. CCNY’s defense wasn’t enough to stop this gritty team; however, their determination and willingness to keep playing represented resilience and perseverance. Freshman Blessings Joseph-Pascall led the pack with 8 points, shooting 8-16 from the free throw line, and both Ashley Colon and Ashley Subervi contributed 4 points each. The Beavers are set to play next Thursday, December 11, at 5 pm against Hunter College at the Nat Hollman gym.

Our City College men's team picked up their 6th loss after playing in the Cadet Mariner Classic tournament against the Brooklyn Bulldogs. The Beavers shot 21 %  from the field, 7.7% from the three-point line, and 66.7% from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs shot 44.6 % from the field, 35% from three, and 50% from the free-throw line. CCNY's shooting from the line wasn’t enough to outscore the Bulldogs; however, their willingness to show up to every game prepared to play shows their determination as they search for their first win of the season. Senior Justin Morety led the pack with 20 points, along with Michael Bowman contributing 6 points, and Olabanjo Aborisade added an extra 7 points to the scoreboard. The Beavers are set to play next Thursday, December 11, at 7 pm against Hunter College at the Nat Hollman gym.

CUNYAC Sports Series Weekend (11/21-11/23) Recap: Basketball 

This weekend was one jam-packed and filled with happiness and improvement.

The weekend started off on November 20th when our CCNY women Beavers faced Keystone College at the Nat Holman Gym on Friday night. The Beavers picked up their first win of the season at home, and the energy and vibes were high. The Beavers shot 30.5% from the field goal compared to the Giants shooting 27.6 % from the field. CCNY’s defense was a game changer within this matchup, rebounding the Giants on both ends of the floor 30-32, offensively and defensively. Junior shooting guard Ashley Colon led the pack with 17 points and 2 steals. Both senior and freshman guards, Joscelyn Ramos and Blessings Pascall-Joseph added an additional 11 points, leading to the win for the night. The Beavers proved that through hard work and resilience they are able to win, and that was seen this past Friday night. Excellent performance, and our Beavers play next on December 3rd against Pratt Institute.

On the men’s side, the Beavers are continuing to put up a fight against highly talented teams; however, they still look to get their first win of the season. This weekend, the Beavers played in the Cadet Mariner Classic where they competed on Friday night and Saturday afternoon against United States Coast Guard University and Mitchell College. There was a constant back-and-forth battle throughout the past two days. In the first matchup against Coast Guard University, the Beavers shot 42.6% from the field compared to the Bears’ 44.4%, which gave them the lead in both halves ultimately resulting in their first loss of the weekend.

In the second matchup against Mitchell College, the Beavers were neck and neck with the Mariners, only falling short 10 points and shooting 35.6 % from the field compared to Mitchell College's 34.4% goal. Our CCNY Men’s Basketball team is still in search of their first win, and it won’t be long until the team begins to glue together. The Beavers are set to play next on November 25th for their first home opener game against Western Connecticut State.

CUNYAC: Women’s Basketball - CCNY vs New Jersey City University-11/19

The 2025 CCNY Women’s Basketball home opener took place in the Nat Holman Gym against New Jersey City University. Leading the Beavers was freshman point guard Blessings Joseph-Pascall, from Brooklyn Law and Tech, who ended the game with 12 points, 2 rebounds, and shooting 8-12 from the free throw line. Sophomore Ashley Subervi contributed a current season high of 11 points and 6 rebounds, scoring 4-11 from the field to help keep the Beavers within reach before New Jersey City outran the lead, with 23-11 in the first half. New Jersey City shot 50.8% from the field goal, and leading the pack were Meghan Gentile, 25 points, and Na'tori Postell, 24 points. However, despite the final score of 50-90 in favor of New Jersey City, this Beavers team continues to show improvement and development as the season progresses.

CUNYAC: Men’s Basketball - CCNY vs Quinnipiac University-11/19

The CCNY Men’s Basketball played in their first exhibition game in Hamden, Connecticut, against Division I Quinnipiac University. Justin Morety led the Beavers throughout the night, scoring 22 points, 3assists, and shooting 10-17 from the field goal. Sophomore Chris Popotte contributed 8 points and 3 blocks, shooting 4-4 from the free throw line to help Morety against the Bobcats before they began to outscore the Beavers. Quinnipiac shot 44.4% from the three compared to CCNY shooting 14.8%. This allowed the Bobcats a huge lead throughout both halves. Leading the Bobcats were Samson Reilly, 29 points, and Keith McKnight, 20 points. However, despite the final score of 52-112, what great exposure this was for a Division III school to face up against a talented Division I and put up a great fight.

CUNYAC Sports Series Weekend (11/14-11/16) Recap: Basketball 

Our CCNY Beavers kicked off their first season tournaments this weekend, both going 0-2 on the women's and men’s side. On the women’s side, games were held at St. Joseph's University in Brooklyn, where the Beavers faced two talented teams: St.Joseph Long Island and the host team, St.Joseph Brooklyn. Through the endless hustle shown throughout both ends of the floor, the Beavers were only able to score 13.6 % from the field compared to St. Joseph Long Island’s 32.9% from the field to start the weekend off. In their second matchup of the weekend, the Beavers were able to pick up their offense, averaging 30.4% from the field, but that wasn’t enough to keep up with their second opponent, St. Joseph Brooklyn, who was 42.3% from the field. Despite the final scores, the Beavers continue to show improvement and resilience as the season starts to really settle in. Our women's CCNY Beavers play at home this Wednesday, November 19th, at 7 pm against New Jersey City University.

Similarly, on the men’s side, this weekend’s battle was held at the Greg Grant Tip-off Tournament, where they faced two talented teams, TCNJ and Johnson & Wales. There was a constant back-and-forth battle throughout the night. In the first matchup against TCNJ, the Beavers shot 46.7% from the field compared to TCNJ’s 53.6% shooting from the field to give them the lead in all 4 quarters, ultimately leading to their first loss of the weekend.  In the second matchup against Johnson & Wales, the Beavers were neck and neck with the Wildcats, only falling short 5 points and shooting 41.7% from the field compared to the Wildcats’ 52.1% field goal percentage. Despite their loss, the Beavers are a gritty, hungry team that continues to learn and grow underneath their new head coach, Daniel Colon. Our men's CCNY Beavers play on Wednesday, November 19th, at Quinnipiac University, at 7 pm.

CUNYAC: Women’s Basketball - CCNY vs Farmingdale

The 2025 CCNY Women’s Basketball opener was held at Farmingdale, showcasing a young and fairly new yet hungry roster. Freshman point guard Blessings Joseph-Pascall, from Brooklyn Law and Tech, ended the game with 11 points,  3 assists, and 3 steals. Leading the Beavers was junior Ashley Colon, adding a season high of 15 points so far, hitting 3-10 from the three-point line to close gaps throughout the game against a fearless Farmingdale squad. Senior guard Joscelyn Ramos also added a significant 11 points, 6-7 shooting from the free throw line. Sophomore Ashley Subervi added an extra 6 points off the bench for the Beavers when they began to close the lead, ending in the third quarter 36-46 in favor of Farmingdale. However, despite the final score of 43-68 Farmingdale, this new beavers team is showing grit and chemistry development.

CUNYAC: Men’s Basketball: CCNY vs Cairn

CCNY Men’s Basketball had their season debut at Cairn University, looking to start their season off with a win. CCNY is led by Daniel Colon, who entered his first year leading the Beavers, and through recruiting and practices, he is looking to shape the program and has high hopes for this fairly young squad. A tough battle between the Beavers and the Highlanders was fought from the start of the first half. The Highlanders, a gritty and hungry young program led by head coach Jason O’Connell, shot 58.2% from the floor compared to the Beavers’ 40.3% shooting from the floor. The Highlanders crashed the boards against the Beavers 28-21 on defensive rebound attempts while the Beavers out rebounded the Highlanders 6-5 through offensive rebound attempts. The CCNY Beavers were led by senior guard Justin Morety, scoring 20 points, racking up 3 steals and 3 assists. Senior Michael Bowman followed with an extra 18 points, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Despite the final score, 71-102 in favor of Cairn, this was a great first match up against the Highlanders to start the season off Monday evening. The CCNY Beavers play at the College of New Jersey this weekend from November 15-16 hoping to get their first win of the season.

CUNYAC: Women’s Basketball: CCNY vs Old Westbury

CCNY Women's basketball were looking for their first win of the season against SUNY Old Westbury on Wednesday evening. CCNY, led by Marcello Di Russo who enters his fifth year with the Beavers, and currently in his  second year as the head coach after being the assistant coach for three. He leads a fairly young team but with great upside and grit. A tough neck and neck battle was fought against the Panthers throughout all four quarters. The Panthers, a tough and young squad coached by Joe Pellicane, led the game shooting 28.8% from the floor compared to the Beavers’ 21.8% shooting from the floor. The Panthers had a shooting day going for themselves on their season debut shooting 20% from the three point line compared to the Beavers’ 5% from three. The CCNY Beavers were led by junior shooting guard Ashley Colon scoring 12 points and shooting 100 % from the free throw line.  Freshman guards Blessings Joseph-Pascall and Yazmin Loma Romero put up 8 points each to add to Colon’s 12. Despite the final score 39-43 in favor of Old Westbury, the Beavers put up a great fight up against the Panthers and will continue to compete. The CCNY Beavers play this Friday and Saturday, November 14 and 15, at St. Joseph University, looking to get their first win of the season.

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Nafissatou Yattassaye is a freshman at City College, majoring in Communications with a

concentration in Journalism. Writing allows her to escape reality and enter a realm where

she is free to express her creativity through words and phrases with simply the ink of her

pen!