The men's basketball team suffered a 66-59 defeat to York College on Saturday afternoon at the Doghouse. The Bloodhounds drop to 14-9 on the season and 8-6 in CUNYAC. The Cardinals improve to 9-15 and 5-10 in the conference. 

Senior Essien Epps dropped a game-high 23 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists, and a team-high two steals. Junior Doug Levy fell one point shy of a double-double with nine points, a game-high 19 rebounds, and a game-high five blocks. 

Sophomore Odis Gause III contributed nine points and sophomore Kyle LaGuardia grabbed six boards. Senior Jerome Petty dished out a season-high four assists. 

Both teams exchanged baskets in the first seven minutes as the score was knotted at seven. Down by three, Gause III made a basket and Epps followed with back-to-back layups to put the Bloodhounds ahead 15-12. 

York quickly tied it but sophomore Eric Pujols and Petty drained two straight three-pointers with 8:18 left in the first half. The Cardinals followed on a 5-0 run but LaGuardia ended it with a basket. Up by two, Gause III scored four straight and Petty sank a three as John Jay held a 30-23 advantage at the half. 

Gause III continued his hot shooting by opening up the half with a jumper. Down by seven, the Cardinals went on a 10-4 run to trail 36-35. With 12:21 remaining, York took its first lead of the period by one point. A layup by LaGuardia put John Jay back ahead but the guests followed on a 7-0 run to lead 48-42 with 8:49 left to go. 

The Bloodhounds closed the deficit and were able to even the score at 50 apiece with just under four minutes on the clock. The Cardinals broke open the game on a 10-2 run to complete the road upset. 

John Jay went 25-for-61 (41.0%) from the floor, 4-for-20 (20.0%) from behind the arc, and 5-for-11 (45.5%) from the free-throw line. 

The Bloodhounds visit Brooklyn College on Monday, February 11, for a conference tilt at 7:15 pm.