The men's basketball team lost to NYU in its season opener, 80-51, on Saturday evening at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan, NY. The Bloodhounds fall to 0-1 on the season while the Violets improve to 1-0. 

"Obviously, we're disappointed with the loss," head coach Ryan Hyland said about his debut. "Although we are upset, I thought some guys showed promise that this season holds for them."

NYU got off to an early 5-0 lead to start the game but senior Kris Owens hit a jumper to cut the deficit to two. Minutes later, the Violets increased the lead back up to five but Owens nailed a three-pointer to give NYU a 7-5 lead. 

The next following positions consisted of both teams exchanging baskets. With John Jay down by four, junior Kendal Jordan made a layup to cut the lead back down to two. The Violets responded by going on a 10-3 run, giving the hosts a 21-12 advantage with 8:58 remaining in the first half.

Two minutes later, NYU increased their lead to 12 and went into halftime up, 37-25. 

The Bloodhounds shot 33.3% from the field (10-for-30) and from behind the arc (3-for-9). The Violets went 13-for-26 (50%) from the field and 6-for-14 (42.9%) from three. Jordan led the Bloodhounds with eight points and senior Korede Griffith had six points and two assists. 

Three minutes into the second half, NYU increased the lead to 20 on poor shooting by John Jay. The Bloodhounds responded on a 6-0 run of its own, courtesy of two buckets by Griffith and one by Owens. With the Bloodhounds trailing 49-35, the Violets registered the next 10 out of 12 points. NYU took the season opener by a final score of 80-51. 

Jordan led the Bloodhounds recording a double-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals. Griffith finished with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Owens registered 11 points and senior Darell Robinson picked up a team-high five assists. 

John Jay finished 28.1% (16-for-64) from the field and 4-for-20 (20%) from behind the arc. The Violets went 28-for-51 (54.9%) from the field and 10-for-21 (47.6%) from three. 

"You're not going to win a lot of games while shooting 28%," Hyland added. "NYU is a very talented team. We tried to focus on limiting their bigs and we did a good job with that. What hurt us was their ability to shoot the ball from deep."

The Bloodhounds will now face the Old Westbury Panthers on Sunday, November 16, at 5pm in the consolation game. The Panthers fell to Union College in the second men's game of the night.

"We have a great opportunity to get this bad taste out of our mouths in less than 24 hours," said Hyland. "That's the beauty of these early season tournaments. Our players and staff are looking forward to tomorrow." 


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