NEW YORK, NY -- The men's basketball team returned to the court on Saturday afternoon for the first time since March 4, 2020 in front of a nice crowd at the Doghouse for its 2021-22 season opener against Clark University. The Bloodhounds had a late surge in the fourth quarter, but eventually fell to Cougars by a score of 102-84. John Jay falls to 0-1 to open the year, while Clark improves to 1-0. 

After being outscored, 50-34, in the first half, the Bloodhounds rallied for a much more competitive second half. John Jay put up a whopping 50 points in the period, but were unable to crawl all the way back into the game and eventually fell to the Cougars. 

Freshman Bleron Lata had an impressive start to his collegiate career, scoring a game-high 21 points and adding five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. He was also a stellar 5-9 from deep. Sophomore Garrison Watkins and junior Angel Rivera were the other Bloodhounds in double figures, tallying 14 and 10 points, respectively. Sophomore Dan Kenny was the game's leading rebounder, collecting a career-high eight boards while adding seven points. 

John Jay has a quick turn around, returning to the Doghouse tomorrow at 3 p.m. for a non-conference contest against Keystone College.