Box Score

The men’s basketball team took over second place in the CUNYAC standings after defeating the Bloodhounds from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 89-75, in a home contest played on Friday night in the ARC Arena.

The Bearcats started the game badly and found themselves down 15 points (22-7) after just eight minutes of play.

They began to slowly chip away at the deficit and would outscore the visiting Bloodhounds, 22-7, over the next eight minutes to take a 29-28 lead on a 3-pointer by Raymond De La Cruz.  They never let up the pressure and ended the first half with a 13-6 run to continue the dramatic turnaround.

Overall, after trailing 22-7, they outscored the Bloodhounds 35-12 for the 42-34 halftime advantage.

Their momentum continued in the second half as they scored the first four points and eventually built up a 54-38 lead with 13:56 left.

John Jay behind 22 second half points from Jamar Harry rallied late to get as close as 66-60 with 5:51 left, but the Bearcats responded with a 16-1 run over the next two minutes to blow the score up to 76-61. That run was enough to hold on to the high-scoring 89-75 home conference victory.

The Bearcats shot 57 percent (13-for-23) in the second half and shot 37-of-44 overall from the free throw line to improve to 8-2 in the CUNYAC.

Granville Gittens had his finest game with a career-high 29 points and 16 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. His one-handed dunk off a missed shot in the first half brought the crowd to its feet. He also finished shooting a perfect 15-for-15 from the free throw line.

Rob Goldstein scored 15 points (6-10 fg), five assists and two steals, while Matt Feldman continued his solid play on both ends of the court with 14 points that also featured a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. Defensively, he contributed three steals.

Joshua Vital scored all 10 of his points in the second half. De La Cruz finished with eight points, six rebounds and two assists.

Jamar Harry finished with 26 points for John Jay and scored his 1,000th career point during the second half.

The men’s basketball team will return to action on Monday, January 28, with a 7:00 pm CUNYAC contest at CCNY. To follow the action via live stats, click here.