By: By Michael L. Damon
Box Score
New York, N.Y. --- Despite taking 21 more free throws than their opponent and connecting on 13 more, the John Jay men's basketball team dug themselves a big deficit early and never fully came back as the Bloodhounds lost to New Jersey City University (NJCU) , 85-77, in a non conference game at the Doghouse on Monday evening.
The Bloodhounds went to the line 41 times and made 29 foul shots, while NJCU went to the line 20 times and landed 13. The Bloodhounds though committed seven turnovers in the first 11:37 of the game, while NJCU did not commit any for the first 12:27 as the Gothic Knights catapulted to a 17 point lead and led 32-15 with 8:10 to go in the first half.
NJCU, who held a 30-26 edge in points off turnovers for the game, originally had a 16-0 advantage to start the game en route to taking the large lead as they led from start to finish.
The Gothic Knights led by as much as 18 and were up 34-16 with 6:34 to go before the Bloodhounds cut into it.
John Jay raced off an 8-0 spurt to pull back to within 10 and they were down 34-24 with 3:14 to go. John Jay continued to dominate the final three minutes and cut the NJCU lead to single digits before halftime and a pair of free throws by junior guard
Gary Brady (Bronx, NY, Martin Luther King) with thirty seconds left got John Jay to within seven at 38-31 before NJCU went into halftime up nine at 40-31.
Gothic Knights exploded with a 16-4 run to start the second half and took a 21 point lead, 56-35 with 14:29 to go to take their largest lead of the night.
The Bloodhounds however, behind 26 trips to the line, including 13 by
Godfrey Mascall (Brooklyn, NY, Paul Robeson), who was 18 for 21 overall to lead John Jay with 26 points, managed to come to within striking range.
John Jay used an 8-0 run to pull back to within 13 and they trailed 56-43 with 12:24 to play. Mascall went 5 for 5 from the line during that span.
The Bloodhounds continued to fight back and used an 18-7 run to take a 66-51 deficit and narrow it to a 73-69 with 1:48 to go on a pair of free throws by Mascall.
But NJCU, behind a huge three point field goal by
Kyle Ingram, who had a game-high 27 points, connected on a three pointer to put NJCU up seven. Then a John Jay turnover led to a pair of free throws by Ingram to put the Gothic Knights up by nine with 1:01 to go.
Moments later John Jay pulled back to within five and the Bloodhounds trailed 82-77 after a free throw by
Miguel Garcia (New York, NY, St. Raymond's). Garcia had 14 points for John Jay.
NJCU, after going up by a half dozen, made one final defensive stop in the closing seconds to preserve the win.
John Jay shot 45.8 percent from the field (22 for 48), while the Gothic Knights made 54.2 percent (32 for 59).
Behind Mascall's 26, John Jay had an overwhelming advantage in points off the bench outscoring NJCU 37-18.
Chris Jaeger (Hicksville, NY, Hicksville) had 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds for John Jay, while NJCU's
Josh Lopez had 15 points and a game-high 11 assists.
John Jay returns to action on Wed. Jan. 28 for a home contest against Baruch at 7 p.m.
