The men’s basketball team lost an exciting and high-scoring conference contest to the Bridges of Brooklyn College, 96-84, on Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn.

The Bridges took control of the game early by jumping to a 28-4 lead, but the Bearcats regained their composure and made a late first half run to get as close as 42-39 at halftime.

The Bearcats did manage on two occasions to cut the lead to one point during the early part of the second half, but the Bridges consistently answered the challenges behind 26 points each from Richard Jean-Baptiste (Queens, NY/St. John's Prep) and Daniel Nisbett (Staten Island, NY/ Petrides).

The Bridges also nailed eight total 3-pointers and shot 59 percent (29-49 fg) to clinch their ninth victory of the season.

Lionel Hilaire (Far Rockaway, NY/Archbishop Molloy) led Baruch this afternoon with 20 points and six assists. 

George Kunkel (Glendale, NY/ Archbishop Molloy) had 16 points and seven rebounds, while Arki Wisnu (New York, NY/Newtown) contributed 15 points and four steals.

Tammer Farid (Woodside, NY/Stuyvesant) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points.   

The visiting Bearcats finished shooting 47 percent (32-68) and out-rebounded Brooklyn, 35-24. 

The Bearcats will continue their conference schedule this Wednesday with a 7:30 pm road game at the College of Staten Island.