Jamaica, NY - The John Jay men's basketball team nearly erased a 13-point halftime deficit, outscoring the York College Cardinals, 37-30, in the second half, getting to within four, 70-66, with twenty seconds left but it wasn't enough as the Bloodhounds fell 74-68 on Tuesday evening.
With the setback, John Jay falls to 6-13 overall and 2-6 in CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) play while the Cardinals improve to 4-14 and match the Bloodhounds at 2-6.
Graduate guard Garrison Watkins produced his tenth career 20-point outing along with his 16th double-double of his John Jay tenure (sixth this season) as the Staten Island, NY native finished with a game-high 26 points on a proficient 12 of 24 marksmanship from the floor while corralling a team-high 12 rebounds.
Jamir Stewart reached double-figures, scoring 12 points while swiping a team-high four steals in his 24 minutes of action.
Four Cardinals scored in double-digits led by Tyres Desinor, who registered a double-double, finishing with 23 points on 10 of 19 shooting while pulling down 13 rebounds, ten on the defensive end.
Olawale Kila also notched a double-double, concluding with 17 points while grabbing 13 rebounds, eight of which coming on the defensive end. Aidony Nivar and Rohan Singh also reached double figures, with Nivar scoring 16 points while Singh added 12 points.
York opened the contest on an 11-4 run capped by a layup from Desinor. The Bloodhounds responded by outscoring the Cardinals, 11-6, over the next 2:31 to cut the deficit down to two, 17-15, following a three-pointer from
TJ Chisolm.
The Cardinals staged a 14-2 run to build a 31-17 lead following a three-pointer from Singh. York converted on 6 of 10 during this stretch with Desinor scoring eight of the 14 points while Singh netted six points during the run and held the Bloodhounds to just a one of ten shooting display.
The two teams traded points over the final seven minutes, with Watkins netting his 14 point with just twenty second remaining in the half as the Bloodhounds trailed 44-31.
The Bloodhounds were held to just 32.5 percent shooting in the opening half (13 of 40) while only hitting on 20.0 percent from the outside (3 of 15). The Cardinals found their rhythm from the floor, shooting 53.3 percent (16 of 30) while hitting on 70.0 percent from three-point range (7 of 10).
John Jay flipped the momentum on the Cardinals, outscoring the Cardinals, 25-15, over 14 minutes of the second half, cutting the deficit down to three, 59-56, as Watkins netted his 24
th point of the contest on a layup with 5:33 left to play in regulation.
The Bloodhounds continued to chip away, as
Jordan Evelyn connected on two critical free throws to get to within three, 68-65. Evelyn's layup rimmed out with under a minute to go and was called for a foul that sent Desinor to the line. Desinor converted both attempts to make it 70-65.
York sealed the game as Kila made his two free throws with 18 seconds to push the lead back to six, 72-66, and Nivar added the final two points from the line.
John Jay held York to just 28.6 percent shooting in the second half (8 of 28) and 1 of 6 from three-point range. The Bloodhounds held a 39-38 lead on the boards, highlighted by a 16-8 advantage on the offensive glass.
The Bloodhounds return home to The Doghouse on Friday, January 26, as they will host Hunter College at 7:30 p.m.
