New York, N.Y.— The 2007-08 John Jay men’s basketball team made history on Friday evening as the Bloodhounds won their first ever Con Edison / City University of New York Athletic Conference men’s basketball championship in program history defeating York College (N.Y.) 68-54 at Nat Holman Gymnasium. With the championship in hand the Bloodhounds have received an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III basketball championship for the first time in program history.

 

“I told my guys from the start, we’re going to call this tournament the John Jay Invitational,” said John Jay’s third year head coach Charles Jackson. “A lot of people saw us as an underdog, but we knew that if we played our style we would have a great chance of winning this tournament.”

 

Both teams came out keyed up for the contest making shot after shot in the first couple of minutes. After five minutes of play in the first half the teams were knotted at 16 with neither team missing the cylinder too often. The top seeded Cardinals connected on eight of their first 10 field goals (80 percent), while John Jay held its own netting six of nine for a 67 percent clip.

 

Both teams traded leads through the opening stages of the game.

 

But York established a four point lead and went out in front 20-16 on a lay-up by Chris Roberts with 13:14 remaining.

 

John Jay established a 4-0 spurt of its own and tied the contest at 20 on a three point field goal by Miguel Garcia (New York, NY / St. Raymond’s), who had nine points and four rebounds.  York, however, went on another 4-0 run to reclaim a four point advantage at 24-20.

 

But the Bloodhounds answered with a 12-0 run to grab a 32-24 lead and stay on top through the remainder of the first half. Godfrey Mascall (Brooklyn, NY / Paul Robeson) capped at the 6:08 mark on a continuation lay-up. He had eight points and four rebounds for the Bloodhounds.

 

York did not go away however and stayed within striking range. While the Bloodhounds led the rest of the first half, York got to within two at 35-33 with 3:03 to go. But the Bloodhounds maintained control over the final three minutes to go into halftime up 39-35.

 

Unlike the opening stages of the first half, the second half was slow to develop with neither team connecting during the first two minutes. York went 0-for-3 from the floor, while the Bloodhounds were 0-for-2.

 

But York opened the stanza with a 4-0 run to tie the contest.

 

John Jay went back up by three on the next possession on a three point field goal by Vaughn Mason (Bronx, NY / Alfred E. Smith), who had 14 points and was a member of the all tournament team.

 

But York used another 4-0 run to reclaim the lead at 43-42 on a dunk by Marcel Esonwune with 15:02 to go. Esonwune, who was selected to the All Tournament Team, had game highs 22 points and 12 rebounds for York.

 

Both teams traded baskets over the next several minutes and the lead changed on four consecutive possessions. But with the game tied at 47 with 11:12 to play, John Jay went on a game changing 8-0 run to take a 55-47 lead at the 6:44 mark on a lay-up by tournament MVP Hakeem Kased (Brooklyn, NY / Franklin D. Roosevelt) who contributed with 13 points, a team-high eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

 

“This means everything,” said Kased. “This is for four years of hard work; for all of the running. This is why [student-athletes] have too much on their plate. I knew that if we played consistently in this tournament that no one could stop us.”

 

York answered with a 4-0 run to get to within four (55-51) with 4:47 to play on a dunk by Esonwune.

 

But the Cardinals got no closer as the Bloodhounds pulled away again. They outscored York 8-2 over the next three plus minutes to grab a 10 point lead (63-53) with 1:27 to play to put the game out of reach.

 

And from there John Jay outscored the defending champions 5-1 (13-3 total run) to take the 68-54 lead, the final score.

 

“It’s a tremendous compliment,” said Jackson. “To see these young men who believed in the coaches and themselves, day in and day out to get to this point and get out there and do it on the court.”  

 

The John Jay athletics department will celebrate the Bloodhounds victory on campus with a party on Wednesday. The celebration will be held inside the second floor cafeteria on Wed. Feb. 27 at 12:30 p.m. Free pizza will be available for all who attend.