Courtesy of Brockport Athletics 

BALTIMORE, MD— The College at Brockport men's basketball team fought hard in the first round of the Division III NCAA Basketball Tournament, but it was not enough as they fell to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 81-67. Brockport will end the season with a 19-8 overall record, while the Engineers move to 23-5 on the year and move on to the second round of the tournament.
 
The Green and Gold held an advantage in the first 4:20 of the game thanks to five straight points by senior Hamed Shamseldin. Unfortunately, an Engineers run put the team in a 16-point deficit, but Brockport was not going away easily. Big buckets by Shamseldin, Justin Summers, and Tyler Collins cut the score to 24-12 with 6:28 left in the half. Soon thereafter, made layups by Summers and David Clark brought the deficit to single digits. At the half, the Green and Gold were down 33-21.
 
"I talked to him (Ham) and said that he had to get some more shots up," commented head coach Greg Dunne. "If we are going down then we have to go down swinging."
 
The deficit expanded to 19 points two minutes into the second half, but Shamseldin took over the game in order to try and bring the Golden Eagles back. The guard scored 14 straight points for Brockport and helped bring the game to 54-40 with 13:42 left in the game. Unfortunately, the is as close as the Green and Gold will get, falling to the Engineers 81-67.
 
When asked about his strong second half, Shamseldin said,
 
"I played my heart out and attacked every time I could. I tried my best and left everything on the floor."
 
Shamseldin led the way with 38 points on 13-for-22 shooting from the field and 12-for-14 from the free throw line while grabbing eight rebounds. Summers finished the game with 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
 
With 11 players returning next year, coach Dunne hopes to use this tournament appearance as motivation and a learning opportunity.
 
"They saw what tournament basketball was all about and I hope they learn from it and come back next year hungry and ready to work hard," said coach Dunne.