Keith Williams (Jersey City, NJ/Create Charter) nailed four free throws in the final four seconds to lift visiting Kean University to a 71-67 victory over the Bearcats on Saturday afternoon in the ARC Arena.

 

The non-conference encounter was a tale of two different halves, as the Bearcats struggled in the opening stanza, but came out on fire in the second to help create an exciting battle between conference schools from the CUNYAC and New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC).

 

The Bearcats trailed 38-29 with 17:45 left, but went on a 16-0 run in the next four minutes to take a 45-38 lead.

 

Kean, which shot 9-of-18 from 3-point range, battled back and eventually broke open a tie at 67 with four free throws by Williams to clinch the victory.

 

Baruch freshman guard Tammer Farid (Woodside, NY/Stuyvesant) scored a career-high 27 points (8-13 fg), including 18 in the second half. He also scored 11 of the team’s 16 points during the big run to help build up the 45-38 advantage.

 

George Kunkel (Glendale, NY/Archbishop Molloy) recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Phil Schatz (Middle Village, NY/Archbishop Molloy) scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds.

 

Laurence Smith (Bronx, NY/Frederick Douglass) had eight points, seven rebounds, five assists, and forced three offensive fouls in a solid effort on defense.  

 

Williams led all scorers for Kean with 24 points (8-13fg, 4-4 3fg), nine rebounds and seven steals.

 

The Bearcats will return to action this Wednesday evening with a 7:30 pm home conference contest against the New York City College of Technology.