Box Score
Brooklyn, N.Y.— The John Jay men's basketball team's quest to repeat as conference champions was denied on Sunday as the No. 7 seeded Bloodhounds were defeated by the No. 2 seed Brooklyn College, 77-67, in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 Con Edison / City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) men's basketball championship.
John Jay's season comes to an end with a 7-18 overall record. The Bloodhounds were led by Chris Jaeger (Hicksville, NY, Hicksville) with 24 points, while Miguel Garcia (New York, NY, St. Raymond's) had 14 along with five assists and five steals. Godfrey Mascall (Brooklyn, NY, Paul Robeson) came off the bench with 13 points and six assists.
The host Bridges got first run on the defending conference champions and they led over the final thirty seven minutes of the contest.
Up 12-10 with 13:32 to play in the opening stanza, Brooklyn went on a 12-2 run to take a 24-12 lead with 8:47 remaining.
But the Bloodhounds averted a potential blowout and hung around behind strong play off the bench from reserves Gary Brady (Bronx, NY, Martin Luther King) and Mascall. Both players played the final nine minutes of the first half and combined for 10 points off the bench in the opening stanza.
Brady netted eight points in the first half on 3 for 5 shooting, while Mascall scored two to go along with three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
John Jay outscored Brooklyn 17-11 over the final nine minutes, including 11-6 over the final 7:18 to pull to within six points at halftime as John Jay went into halftime down 35-29.
Early in the second half the Bloodhounds pulled to within as little as two and the Bloodhounds trailed 43-41 with 15:06 remaining.
Clinging onto a three point lead at 46-43, the Bridges ran off a 13-2 run to take their biggest lead of the afternoon though and Brooklyn led 59-45 with 7:21 to go on a breakaway dunk by Amil John, who had 15 points, five rebounds and six steals for the Bridges.
But Brooklyn was called for a pair of technical fouls after the made basket. John was called for a Class B technical for hanging onto the rim, and another technical foul was called on Brooklyn.
Garcia went to the line and connected on three of four from the line to pull John Jay to within 11 at 59-48 and John Jay had possession. On the ensuing possession, Garcia connected on a jumper giving him five straight points and the Bloodhounds were on a 5-0 run to pull back to within single digits and the Bloodhounds trailed 59-50 with 7:02 to go.
Richard Jean-Baptiste, who led Brooklyn with 20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, seven steals and two blocks, answered with a field goal to put the Bridges back up by 11 with 6:05 to go.
Garcia connected again for John Jay, giving him seven straight Bloodhound points to cap a 7-2 run as John Jay was back to within nine at 61-52 at the 5:43 marker.
But Brooklyn answered the call and held the Bloodhounds within an arms length distance for the next several minutes. The Bridges went back to lead by as much as 12 and they led 69-57 with 2:15 to go.
William Smallwood, who had four points on 2 for 3 shooting, connected on back to back lay-ups to pull John Jay to within eight. And after a Brooklyn turnover on the ensuing possession, Mascall knocked down a jumper in the paint and the Bloodhounds were down six at 69-63 with 1:16 remaining capping a 6-0 run.
After a John Jay timeout, the Bloodhounds used a full court press that Brooklyn broke free from and resulted in another John dunk with 1:06 to go.
Mascall netted another two points, with fifty seven seconds left and John Jay was back to within six.
But clutch free throw shooting by Brooklyn in the final minute (6 for 6 over the final forty nine seconds) preserved the win for Brooklyn who advance into the semifinal round of the tournament.
Behind Jean-Baptiste, four other Brooklyn players scored in double figures. John had 15, Ahmad Hemingway had 14, while Thomas Guerin and Darnell Cudjoe added 12 each.
Brooklyn, who shot 47.5 percent from the floor (29 for 61), shot 63.6 percent in the second half (14 for 22). John Jay shot 46.6 percent (27 for 58) from the floor for the game.
