The men's basketball team defeated City College (CCNY), 83-80, on Homecoming at the Doghouse on Tuesday night. The crowd of over 800 saw the Bloodhounds improve to 2-6 overall and 1-2 in the CUNY Athletic Conference. The Beavers drop to 3-5 on the season and 0-3 in CUNYAC. 

"The fans tonight were amazing," head coach Ryan Hyland said. "The atmosphere they created definitely contributed to the outcome of the game. It was really exciting for our guys to have such great support."

Junior Kendal Jordan recorded the first two points of the game for the Bloodhounds. The first three minutes consisted of both teams exchanging buckets. With CCNY up by one, the Beavers went on a 5-0 run to lead, 14-8 with 16:01 left in the half. A lay-up by Jordan and a three-pointer by sophomore Ronald Merriwether cut the deficit back down to one. 

With 14:36 left to go in the first half, senior Korede Griffith nailed a three to give the Bloodhounds a 16-14 advantage. Halfway through the half, John Jay increased its lead to eight when Merriwether recorded five straight points. Once again, the Beavers responded to cut the lead back to four. 

With the Bloodhounds leading 30-26 with 5:56 on the clock, two successful free-throws by senior Darell Robinson and lay-ups by sophomore Jesse Higgins and Merriwether put the Bloodhounds back up by 10. Heading into halftime, the Bloodhounds led 39-32. 

Coming out of the half, Robinson hit a shot from behind the arc to the give John Jay a double-digit lead. Two minutes in, the Beavers went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 42-38. With the Bloodhounds up by five with 16:13 remaining, Higgins hit a three at the top of the key to give John Jay a 48-40 lead. One minute later, a lay-up by Griffith put the Bloodhounds back up by 10. 

With the Bloodhounds up 60-48, Higgins nailed another three-pointer to give John Jay its largest lead of the night. The Beavers chipped at the lead and with 5:51 left in the contest, the Bloodhounds lead 67-62. One minute later, Jordan converted on a three-point play to give John Jay a 10-point advantage. 

CCNY then went on a 8-0 run and cut the deficit to 72-70. Griffith then hit a clutch three and two successful free-throws by Jordan put John Jay up by seven. 

The Beavers once again responded, hitting two three's with 1:49 left in the game. With just under a minute left, Merriwether increased the lead back up to four on a lay-up. CCNY then hit two free-throws and a lay-up to tie the game with 3.9 seconds left. 

Hyland called a timeout to design a play for the final shot of the second half. Merriwether inbounded the ball to Higgins, who made a cross-court pass to Robinson. Robinson threw up a last second three pointer and nailed it to give the Bloodhounds a dramatic 83-80 win. 

"Our guys did a great job at the end of the game, in the huddle and executing the play we drew up," Hyland added. "Darell (Robinson) did an amazing job and knocked down the shot, but it was the execution, screening, and passes made by the other four guys that helped us secure that victory."

Griffith led the Bloodhounds in points and steals with 24 and six, respectively. Jordan recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Robinson finished with 10 points and a game-high seven assists. Merriwether and Higgins contributed off the bench with 14 and 11 points, respectively. 

"We handled adversity very well tonight," said Hyland. "We had three starters in foul trouble throughout the game and our bench was the key to this win. We had a great production from all nine guys who saw time off the bench."

The Bloodhounds will look to keep the momentum for Thursday's match when they face the 3-3 Dolphins. Game time is at 7:00pm and will be live streamed at www.johnjayathletics.com/watch.