The men basketball team cruised to a 70-52 win on Wednesday night at the Doghouse. The Bloodhounds improve to 9-7 on the year and 4-4 in CUNYAC. The Bulldogs drop to 9-7 and 4-3. 

The storyline of the night was senior Essien Epps becoming the all-time scoring leader in John Jay men's basketball program history. He passes Greg Andrew (1991-95) who finished his stellar career with 1,565 points. 

After making a free-throw with seven minutes left in the opening half, Epps received a tight pass in the corner and drained a tough three-point shot to jump into the top spot in scoring history. He received a thunderous ovation from the packed Doghouse crowd that included President Karol Mason. 

At halftime, the Athletics Department honored and recognized him at center court and presented him with an engraved plaque. Epps will look to add to his total as the Bloodhounds have at least 10 games remaining on their schedule. 

Junior Doug Levy led John Jay with his team-high 12th double-double with a game-high 21 points, game-high 15 rebounds, game-high five blocks, and four assists. Sophomore Eric Pujols came off the bench to ignite the offense going 5-for-6 from behind the arc to total 15 points. 

Senior Jerome Petty chipped in with 11 points and sophomore Romello Ford dished out a team-high five assists. Epps finished with eight points, 10 rebounds, and a pair of steals. Sophomore Odis Gause III tallied a season-high eight points. 

Petty started the game with a three-pointer and then Levy went to work as the big man made three straight layups. His second layup started a 9-0 run as the Bloodhounds led 16-7 with 12:05 left. 

The guests cut the deficit to six but John Jay responded with 10 straight points with Pujols hitting two three-pointers and Epps making a free-throw. 

Brooklyn followed with a layup but then Epps etched his name in Bloodhound history with a corner three to increase the lead to 33-16. The Bloodhounds went into halftime holding a 43-23 advantage. 

The Bulldogs scored the first eight points of the second half. Levy responded to convert on a three-point play and then Epps made a layup. 

The visitors were able to get it to 15 but that was as close as they would get as the Bloodhounds held on for the conference victory. 

John Jay finished 24-for-55 (43.6%) from the field, 9-for-23 (39.1%) from behind the arc, and 13-for-22 (59.1%) from the free-throw line. 

The Bloodhounds head north to the Bronx when they face Lehman College on Saturday, January 19, at 3:00 pm.