Williamsport, PA - The John Jay men's basketball team opened up the Crosstown Challenge on Friday evening, falling to the Penn College of Technology, 79-65.
Isaac Holmes filled up the stat sheet, leading the Bloodhounds with a team-high 14 points on 5 of 12 shooting while adding seven rebounds, a block, an assist, and a steal in 31 minutes of action.
Jayson Delgado chipped in nine points off the bench in 13 minutes of action while
Bleron Lata and
Jamir Stewart notched eight points.
Dan Kenny pulled down a team-best eight caroms, five coming on the defensive glass.
The Wildcats had four players score in double-figures, led by Alec Cooper's game-high 21 points on an efficient 10 of 12 shooting from the floor.Gavin Barrett recorded a triple-double, tallying 13 points, 12 assists, and ten rebounds. Rees Watkins notched a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes of play. Obens Luxama contributed 10 points in 22 points.
"Trips like this one in Williamsport, early in the season, offer a great opportunity for our guys to come even close together off the court," commented John Jay head men's basketball coach Ryan Hyland. "Clearly, we didn't get the result we wanted tonight, but, as we continue to face good, well-coached teams, we will continue to learn more and more about our group. We've got the pieces to be successful and there's trust that we'll get where we need to sooner than later."
Penn College claimed an early 6-3 lead before John Jay regained the lead on a Lata three-pointer.
The Wildcats staged a 20-12 run over the next 7:02 in building an eight-point lead, 28-20, as Holmes was able to make one of two from the free-throw line.
The resilient Bloodhounds answered back with a lengthy run of their own, outscoring the Wildcats, 21-10, over a 7:25 span in taking a 41-40 lead as
Garrison Watkins was able to bank in the layup. Penn College closed out the frame with five straight points, taking a 45-41 lead into the break.
When play resumed in the second half, Penn College added to their run that closed the first half, upping the advantage to ten, 51-41, thanks to this 11-0 run, as Watkins hit on the layup in the paint. Lata was able to halt the Wildcats' run, connecting on another trifecta at the 15:58 mark.
Penn College closed out the contest scoring 28 of the final 49 points while limiting the Bloodhounds to just 6 of 19 shooting over the final fifteen minutes, while the Wildcats were able to convert on 50.0 percent from the floor (11-22) while going a perfect 5 of 5 from the outside.
John Jay converted 18 points off 15 Penn College mishaps. The Wildcats held a 43-27 edge on the boards (35-19 on the defensive end).
The Bloodhounds will close out the two-day Crosstown Challenge on Saturday afternoon, as John Jay will square off against Lycoming at 3:00 p.m.
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