The Broncos' men's basketball team suffered a tough defeat on Tuesday evening, falling to the Vikings of Westchester Community College by a score of 74-71 at the Alumni Gym. With the loss, Bronx slipped to 4-10 on the 2018-2019 campaign, while Westchester improved to 9-5 on the year.

Things looked promising for Bronx throughout the first half, as the Broncos led by as many as 16 points (39-23) before entering the locker room at halftime with a 39-27 edge.

The Vikings carried their momentum of scoring the final four points of the opening session into the second half, as Westchester outscored Bronx 31-18 over the first 13:41 of the period to take a 58-57 lead. The Broncos would never reclaim the lead in this one, eventually suffering a heartbreaking three-point defeat.

Tilquan Rucker and Hector Montano tied for the game-high in points with 20 apiece. Montano also added 13 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a pair of blocks, and Rucker contributed a game-high four steals, three rebounds, and two assists. Rickardo Byfield posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds to go along with four swatted shots, and Malik Hamilton added 13 points, eight caroms, and four assists.

In the victory for Westchester, the Vikings were paced by Joe Zayer, as he finished with a team-high 15 points and a game-high six assists. He also snatched five rebounds as well. Fabian Johnson added 13 points and nine rebounds while blocking four shots,

Westchester converted on 42.9 percent of its shots from the floor (30-70), while Bronx hit on 41.4 percent of its attempts (29-70). Both teams struggled mightily at the line, with the Vikings misfiring on 11 of their 20 attempts from the charity stripe (45 percent), and the Broncos missed eight of their 16 attempts (50 percent). Westchester held a slight edge on the boards, snatching 47 caroms compared to 45 for Bronx, and the Broncos slimly won the turnover battle, committing 17 miscues while forcing 18 Westchester mistakes.

The Broncos will return to action on Thursday evening, as Bronx will face CUNYAC foe Kingsborough in Brooklyn, NY. Start-time is scheduled for 8:00pm.