By: Michael L. Damon
mdamon@jjay.cuny.edu
(212) 237-8322
Box Score Salisbury, Md.— After suffering what many may consider a pair of upsets during their two game losing streak, the Bloodhounds pulled out one of their own on Friday as the John Jay men's basketball team defeated nationally ranked Salisbury University, 76-73, in Salisbury, in the opening round of the Optimist Classic.
With the win, the Bloodhounds will play for the tournament championship on Saturday at 6 p.m. against fellow City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) foe Medgar Evers College, who defeated Penn State Abington in the tournament's other contest. John Jay improved to 4-2 overall this season.
The host Seagulls, who were ranked 20
th in the nation according to the latest D3hoops.com poll, will play Penn State Abington in the consolation game on Saturday.
The Bloodhounds were paced by
Jerome Alexander with 29 points in the win on 12-for-23 shooting. He also had a team-high five assists in the upset win. Meanwhile
Jamar Harry shot nearly flawless going 8-for-9 for 17 points, as the Bloodhounds shot 55.4 percent (31-for-56) as a team.
Isaiah Holman added 10 points in the win, while
Matt Collins had a solid all around game with nine points, six rebounds, four assists and six steals.
Salisbury was led by Tim Harwood with 22 points, while Mike Atkins and Mike Maczko had 15 each in defeat.
The game was close from the outset. After Salisbury had the lead for the first couple of minutes, the Bloodhounds led most of the way through the final fifteen minutes of play in the opening stanza. And the led for the final 10-plus minutes of the first half.
John Jay took the first half lead for good with 9:56 to play on a three point field goal by Harry that gave the Bloodhounds a 21-19 lead. The basket ignited a 10-1 run that gave the Bloodhounds their biggest lead of the half as they led by eight at 28-20 with 7:16 to play. A continuation three point basket by
Kevin Philius capped the run as the Bloodhounds were in complete control at the moment.
The Seagulls got the deficit to as little as one, but never managed to salvage at least a tie the rest of the way before the Bloodhounds went into halftime up 41-36.
Early in the second half, Salisbury answered the call and opened the stanza by outscoring the Bloodhounds 19-9 over the first 5:03 of the half to take a 55-50 lead.
But the game was far from over, as John Jay answered with five straight points of their own to tie the score at 55 with 12:43 to go.
Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way, as the second half saw six lead changes and four ties.
Salisbury never led by more than three after the 55-55 tie.
The Bloodhounds held a four point lead on two occasions, including a 71-67 lead with 4:13 to play and a 73-69 lead with 1:07 to play. Salisbury's last lead of the contest was a 67-66 with 4:59 remaining.
In the final minute, the Bloodhounds went 2-for-5 from the free throw line, giving the hosts a chance to tie the game. And Harwood's desperation heave missed narrowly as the Bloodhounds held on.
The Bloodhounds outscored Salisbury 23-9 on points off turnovers. The Seagulls outrebounded the Bloodhounds 37-25 overall and 15-5 on the offensive end leading to a 21-4 advantage for Salisbury on points in the paint.
