The men's basketball team topped Lehman College, 77-68, in the CUNYAC opener on Tuesday night in the Bronx. The Bloodhounds extend their win streak to five and improve to 5-1 on the season and 1-0 in the conference. The Lightning drop to 1-5 overall and 0-1 in CUNYAC.
John Jay matches its longest win streak since 2007-08 when the Bloodhounds put together five-in-a-row.
Four starters finished in double figures for the Bloodhounds. Senior
Jayson Brower picked up his first double-double at John Jay finishing with a game-high 20 points, a season-high and game-high 11 rebounds, and a pair of assists. Junior
Kyle LaGuardia notched a career-high 19 points, four rebounds, and three steals.
Sophomore
Angel Rivera finished with his best game as a Bloodhound recording a season-high 18 points, six boards, and three steals. Junior
Romello Ford contributed 12 points, eight rebounds, and a game-high six assists. Senior
Doug Levy added eight boards.
Both teams exchanged baskets in the first six minutes as John Jay was ahead 11-10. Trailing by four, LaGuardia converted on a three-point play with 12 minutes left in the half. The Lightning followed on a 7-0 run but Ford ended it with a three-pointer.
Lehman's largest lead of the half came at 7:34 when they held a 26-17 advantage. The Bloodhounds went to work as they finished the period on an 18-4 run to lead 35-30 after 20 minutes of play. Brower finished with 11 points and nine boards in the half.
The Lightning quickly cut the deficit to two early on in the second but John Jay responded as Rivera made a layup and Brower sank a three. The next nine minutes went back-and-forth as the Bloodhounds were ahead 53-46.
Levy and LaGuardia made back-to-back layups to increase the lead back up to 11 with 8:29 left on the clock. The hosts were able to trim the deficit to eight with just over five minutes remaining but Brower recorded John Jay's next four points. Lehman made a late comeback but the Bloodhounds were able to hold on for a nine-point conference win.
John Jay finished 29-for-60 (48.3%) from the floor, 3-for-18 (16.7%) from behind the arc, and 16-for-33 (48.5%) from the free-throw line.
The Bloodhounds visit CCNY on Friday, December 6, for a CUNYAC game at 8:00 pm. John Jay will go up against a familiar face as former assistant coach Sean Clores is now at the helm for the Beavers.
