The men's basketball team defeated Centenary College (NJ), 73-65, on Monday evening in Hackettstown, NJ. The Bloodhounds improve to 2-8 overall. The Cyclones drop to 6-4 on the season. 

Freshman Essien Epps finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 22 points, a team-high nine rebounds, a game-high five steals, and two assists. Freshman Jordan Aiken recorded a career-high 13 points, shooting 5-for-6 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc, with two assists, and one steal. Junior Jesse Higgins had 10 points and junior Kiernan Hayes grabbed eight rebounds. Junior Geno Ware and freshman Luciano Cruz-Fernandez combined for 12 points, six rebounds, and two assists. 

John Jay stormed out to an 8-0 run to open the first half as Epps hit back-to-back three-pointers and Aiken made a layup. Centenary responded by scoring nine straight points to lead 9-8 with 15:10 left in the half. With the Bloodhounds trailing 20-17, Ware connected on a three-pointer to tie the game at 20 apiece. 

With the Cyclones leading by two, John Jay went on a 6-0 run, capped off by a layup by Higgins with 6:16 left to go. Cruz-Fernandez knocked down a shot from behind the arc to give the Bloodhounds their largest lead of the half, 32-24. Centenary cut the deficit and went into halftime trailing 35-31.

Thirty-three seconds into the second half, the hosts tied the game 35-35. The next seven minutes went back-and-forth as the score was tied at 47 apiece. With 10:47 remaining and the Bloodhounds down by three, Epps made a layup and Aiken connected on a three-pointer to put John Jay up by two. In the Cyclones' next possession, they would tie the game, 52-52.

With 5:36 on the clock and the game tied, John Jay broke open the game on a 13-0 run. The Bloodhounds would go on to collect their second win of the season by a final score of 73-65. 

John Jay finished 26-for-62 (41.9%) from the field, 11-for-27 (40.7%) from behind the arc, and 10-for-14 (71.4%) from the charity stripe.

The Bloodhounds will return home after finals week on Sunday, December 30, when they host the College of New Jersey at 1:00 pm. Live stats will be available at www.sidearmstats.com/johnjay/mbball.