New York, N.Y. --- The John Jay men’s basketball team upped its winning streak to three as the Bloodhounds defeated the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), 67-63 in their 2007-08 home opener on Monday evening. The Bloodhounds now stand at 3-1 on the season.
Vaughn Mason (Bronx, NY / Alfred E. Smith) paced the Bloodhounds with 20 points in the win, while shooting 7-for-15 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from three point range. Fellow teammate Hakeem Kased (Brooklyn, NY / Franklin D. Roosevelt) chipped in off the bench with 16 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
The Bloodhounds led most of the first half. After USMMA opened the game with a 5-2 run, the Bloodhounds came roaring back with a 7-0 run to take a 9-5 lead, capped by a three point play by Gary Brady (Bronx, NY / Martin Luther King) with 13:32 to play.
John Jay never trailed again through the first twenty minutes and led by as much as 11 late in the first half (29-18 with fifty-three seconds remaining) on a jumper in the paint by Robert Pierce (Far Rockaway, NY / Benjamin Cardozo) before John Jay went into halftime up 29-20.
The Bloodhounds traded baskets with the visiting Mariners early in the second half, and with John Jay still holding onto a nine point lead (34-25) with 18:34 to play, USMMA went on a 10-0 run to grab its first lead since early in the first half. Three different players on USMMA drilled three point shots on three consecutive possessions to tie the game, first by Ryan Samuel (Cedar Hill, TX / Cedar Hill), then Tom Izzo (Bridgeport, WV / Bridgeport), then Matt Oaks (Newton, NC / Bandys). A lay-up by Izzo at the 16:22 mark capped the run and gave the Mariners the lead.
But John Jay answered back and reclaimed the lead with a 5-0 run of its own, capped by a Mason three to give the Bloodhounds the lead.
John Jay never trailed again in the contest, but USMMA tied the contest three more times, as late as the final 9:20 to make the score 47-47.
But the Bloodhounds answered with a 9-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to grab a lead they would not relinquish. A three point field goal by Emilio Gomez (Moca, Dominican Republic / William Taft) at the 6:55 mark of the second half extended John Jay’s lead and the Bloodhounds never trailed again.
The Mariners would get to within three in the final minute but no closer as John Jay made its home opener a successful one.
John Jay returns to action on Wed. Nov. 28 at William Paterson at 7 p.m.
