The men’s basketball team won for the third straight game and sixth time in their last seven by defeating the Hunter College Hawks, 74-65, in front of a highly-charged crowd on Thursday night at the “Battle of Lexington.”
The conference showdown was tied at 59 with 6:00 minutes left, but the Bearcats outscored the visiting Hawks, 15-6, down the final stretch to join Hunter in a two-way tie for fourth place in the overall conference standings and first in the north division.
Hunter struggled from the free throw line (5-of-16), but displayed impressive shooting from 3-point range (10-of-25), particularly with seven 3-pointers in the second half, to take a 52-46 lead with 12:00 minutes left.
The Bearcats fought back all night with strong defense and out-rebounded the Hawks in the vital rebounding category (42-33). They also scored 25 points via 17 Hunter turnovers.
Freshman Tammer Farid (Woodside, N.Y./Stuyvesant) led Baruch with 18 points, while Phil Schatz (Middle Village, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) was a force again in the paint with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Laurence Smith (Bronx, N.Y./Frederick Douglass) and Eric Quintero (New York, N.Y./John Adams) scored 10 points each.
These two players teamed up for a key play late in the second half, with Smith stealing a pass and starting a fast break, that ended with Quintero making the lay up and drawing the foul to clinch a 3-point play at the free throw line.
The score helped Baruch take a pivotal 53-52 lead with 7:46 left in the game, and seemed to turn the momentum in their favor.
Adrian Serrano (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) finished with 11 points and three assists.
George Kunkel (Glendale, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy), who was named to this week's honor roll for the Metropolitan Basketball Writer's Association, had a solid defensive game with nine rebounds and five steals.
Marlon Smith led the Hunter Hawks with 18 points and three steals.
Prior to the game, in front of family and friends, the team honored seniors Phil Schatz, Laurence Smith and Adrian Serrano.
The senior day ceremony was part of an incredible evening that featured the popular Brooklyn Steppers marching band, a $5,000 shot contest, Baruch cheerleaders, and a special group performance by the New York Chinese Free Mason Club to celebrate the Chinese New Year at diverse Baruch College.
In addition, more than 10 large student groups participated in the inaugural Ultimate Fan Challenge, that saw students compete for judges’ attention by wearing everything from body color to wigs to wacky outfits.
The Baruch softball team, which has been diligently fundraising for their trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, held their raffle drawing for a Wii and announced the winner in front of the large crowd.
The two basketball games this evening were recorded for television and will air in the near future on the Bronxnet and CUNY-TV networks. The taped-delay broadcast dates are expected to be available early next week, once the editing process is complete. The scenes of a packed and highly charged ARC Arena truly made a great broadcast.
Finally, the entire day began during club hours (12:30 pm to 2:30 pm) with the Athletic Pep Rally that honored each of the 13 varsity teams, including the defending four-time conference champions men’s tennis, who leave next Thursday night to California to play against national power and #4-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Whittier College.
The men’s basketball team will return to action this Saturday with a Noon time conference road game at Lehman College in the Bronx.
