By: John Jay Sports Information
Box Score
The #7 men's basketball team lost a tough back-and-forth quarterfinals game to the #2 seeded York Cardinals, 63-55, on Saturday afternoon in Jamaica, NY. The Bloodhounds finish the season with a 9-17 overall record and 7-9 in the CUNY Athletic Conference.
York scored the first two points of the game but junior
Kris Owens and
Korede Griffith hit back-to-back three pointers to give the Bloodhounds a 6-2 lead. The Cardinals cut the deficit to two but John Jay increased it back up to four after senior
Oshea Alexander connected on an alley-oop. York tied the game at eight apiece with 14:33 remaining in the half.
The Bloodhounds then recorded the next four points on a layup by sophomore
Kendal Jordan and a jumper by junior
Anthony Saldarriaga. With John Jay leading by four, the Cardinals took the lead, 17-16, after going on a 5-0 run.
With three minutes left in the half, York increased the lead to five but Owens responded by hitting back-to-back three pointers to give the visitors a one-point lead. York scored on their next position and with 17 seconds on the clock, Griffith hit a jumper to give John Jay a 27-26 lead heading into halftime.
Saldarriaga opened up the second half by nailing a three pointer to increase the lead to four. A few minutes later, the Cardinals tied it at 30 apiece. Owens then registered the next four points on a free-throw and three pointer.
However, York fought back to take the lead after recording nine straight points with 14:29 left in the contest. The next five minutes saw the Bloodhounds trailing by no more than four points as each team exchanged baskets.
The home team increased the lead to eight with eight minutes left on the clock. The Bloodhounds responded by going on an 8-1 run to cut the deficit to one. With 3:12 left, York scored seven straight points to give them a 59-51 lead and seal the victory. The Cardinals would take the game by a score of 63-55.
Owens recorded a game-high 27 points, shooting 5-for-10 from behind the arc, with four rebounds, three assists and one block. Griffith registered nine points, three steals, and two assists. He finishes the 13-14 season leading the nation in steals with 94 and steals per game with 3.6. Saldarriaga dished out a game-high six assists and recorded nine points, on 4-of-5 shooting, with five rebounds. Jordan and Alexander picked up 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively. Alexander also added two steals and a team-high two blocks.
The Cardinals were led by Player of the Game, Omar St. John, who finished with a team-high 17 rebounds, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Michael Woods recorded 16 points and Jaron Williams registered a team-high seven rebounds.
York advances to the semifinals where they will take on #6 Lehman Lightning at Nat Holman Gymnasium (CCNY) on Tuesday, February 25.
This game turned out to be the final game of
Oshea Alexander,
Darryl Dennis, and
Antoine Long's collegiate career. The Athletics Department wishes them the best of luck in the future!
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