The men's basketball team lost to Centenary University, 75-65, on Monday night at the Doghouse. The Bloodhounds fall to 0-9 overall. The Cyclones improve to 7-4.
For the second straight game, sophomore
Essien Epps recorded a double-double with a team-high 16 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, a team-high four assists, and two steals. Junior
MiKing Richardson and freshman
Wyatt Harkins scored 13 points each. Freshman
Tyrone Dennis came off the bench and registered eight points, three rebounds, and three assists. Senior
Geno Ware grabbed seven boards and sophomore
Luciano Cruz-Fernandez hit two three-pointers.
Richardson opened the game with a three and freshman
Doug Levy made two free throws to give the Bloodhounds an early 5-0 lead. Trailing 9-2, the Cyclones went on a 10-6 run to cut the deficit to 15-12 with 12:19 left in the first half. A layup by Ware increased the lead back up to five with 8:28 on the clock. Centenary followed on a 9-4 run to tie the score at 25 apiece. The last five minutes of the half consisted of five lead changes as the guests led 37-35.
A three-pointer by Richardson three minutes into the second period gave the Bloodhounds a two-point advantage. John Jay increased the lead to four but the Cyclones fought back to tie the game, 43-43 with 13:12 left to go. The next six minutes went back-and-forth as both teams exchanged leads. Up by one, Centenary scored six straight points to take a 58-51 advantage with 4:47 on the clock. Cruz-Fernandez responded with a three-pointer but the visitors followed on an 8-0 run to break open the game. The Bloodhounds were able to cut the deficit to seven but would eventually fall by a final score of 75-65.
John Jay finished 22-for-55 (45.5%) from the field, 8-for-22 (36.4%) from behind the arc, and 7-for-9 (77.8%) from the charity stripe.
The Bloodhounds will have now have three weeks off for finals and holidays. Their next game will be on Monday, January 2, 2017 against Sarah Lawrence College at the Doghouse. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm. The game will be live streamed at
www.johnjayathletics.com/watch.
