By: Michael L. Damon
Box Score
New York, N.Y. --- The John Jay men's basketball team appeared to be all but dead on Wednesday evening! With just under forty seconds remaining, they were down by eight while their opponents were pulling away in what was otherwise a tightly contested game. But the Bloodhounds, behind key late shooting and swarming defense that forced critical turnovers, came away with a miraculous win as they closed out the final forty seconds with an 8-0 run to tie the game and force overtime before blowing by Rutgers-Newark in the extra session to defeat the Scarlet Raiders, 75-68, at the Doghouse.
The win was their second in a row and the Bloodhounds are now 2-5 this season, while Rutgers-Newark is now 6-3.
Both teams were nip and tuck the entire way. The game saw nine ties and 16 lead changes, and Rutgers-Newark's eight point lead was the largest of the night by either team during regulation.
The visiting Scarlet Raiders led by eight on three occasions, and all were in the final 1:22 of the second half.
John Jay took its final lead in regulation at the 5:38 point of the second half and led 48-47 before Rutgers-Newark capitalized on John Jay miscues and grabbed what appeared to be a comfortable lead. The Scarlet Raiders went on an 8-0 run to take a 55-48 advantage with 2:32 to play, capped by a fast break dunk by
David Cherry who had 13 points for Rutgers-Newark.
Rutgers-Newark extended its lead moments later and led 57-49 with 1:22 to go after Cherry connected on a pair of free throws.
A lay-up by
Daniel Desir with 1:04 to play got the Bloodhounds back to within six. But Cherry made another pair of foul shots to give the Scarlet Raiders a 59-51 advantage with fifty-six seconds remaining.
Gary Brady (Bronx, NY, Martin Luther King), who had 11 points in the win, connected on a jumper to pull John Jay back to within six. But another pair of free throws by Rutgers-Newark with thirty-nine seconds to go, put the Scarlet Raiders back up by eight (61-53).
But John Jay connected in its final three possessions in regulation and forced Rutgers-Newark into back to back turnovers to tie the game at 69 as the crowed of just under 200 erupted.
Godfrey Mascall (Brooklyn, NY, Paul Robeson), who had a game co-high 20 points, connected on a three pointer with thirty seconds to go to pull to within five (61-56).
After Rutgers-Newark inbounded the ball, it was taken away by
Miguel Garcia (New York, NY, St. Raymond's) who passed it off to
Vaughn Mason for an easy deuce to pull the Bloodhounds to within three (61-58) with twenty-four seconds to go. Mason contributed 20 points on the evening on 8-for-12 shooting and had a game-high 10 rebounds.
Another Scarlet Raider turnover on the ensuing possession opened the floodgates for the Bloodhounds. Brady stole the inbounds pass and launched a three pointer from the corner with seventeen seconds remaining to tie the game.
After using its final two timeouts, Rutgers-Newark attempted a game winning shot in the closing seconds, but a field goal attempt by Tim Smith with three seconds to go rimmed out to force the extra session.
In overtime, the Bloodhounds shot 57.1 percent (4-for-7) and forced Rutgers-Newark into six turnovers, including on three consecutive possessions at one stretch, while scoring the first six points (14-0 total run) to cruse past the Scarlet Raiders.
John Jay led by as much as nine in overtime before it was over. A lay-up by Garcia, his only field goal of the night (1-for-5), gave the Bloodhounds a lead it would not relinquish as Rutgers-Newark, who shot 33.8 percent from the floor, was limited to 25 percent (2-for-8) in overtime.
John Jay shot 49.1 percent (28-for-57) from the floor in the contest, while Rutgers-Newark held a 51-40 rebounding edge. Rutgers-Newark was led in rebounding by Cherry with eight, while
Deshawn Singleton had a team-high 17 points off the bench as Rutgers-Newark 32-17 in points off the bench. Both teams had 36 points in the paint.
John Jay returns to action on Sat. Dec. 13 against Ramapo at 2 p.m.
