New York, NY - The first twenty minutes of John Jay's second men's basketball tussle with Baruch this season were a foot race.

Both sides locked in a dead heat, each racing toward the 50-point mark to end the first half. Despite the visiting Bearcats eeking out a slight advantage after the halfway point, the two sides remained in lockstep into the final 15 minutes.

A career night from junior guard Junior Evelyn kept the Bloodhounds competitive against the CUNYAC leaders, but Baruch emerged victorious on Tuesday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Evelyn opening his epic shooting night in the opening seconds; driving to the basket for the first points of the game and launching up the first three-pointer of the game to give the Bloodhounds an early 5-2 lead.

John Jay thrived with pace in the early minutes with the Bloodhounds' second three of the game, this time from Isaac Holmes, forced Baruch to call their first timeout less than two minutes into the contest. Holmes forced a turnover on the ensuing possession and pushed the Bloodhound lead to five points with 17:31 to play.

The Bloodhounds turned Baruch over three times in the inital five minutes of the first half and held its lead into the under-12 media timeout. Efficiency on the offensive kept the hosts in front, 19-15, with 3-5 shooting from three-point range and .500 shooting from the floor.

The Bearcats found their offensive rhythm at the other end in the final 10 minutes of the half, with a pair of well-timed Sayeed Osorio threes on back-to-back possessions cutting the John Jay to just one point with 9:32 to play. They took their first lead since the opening minutes on the next trip down the floor.

Both teams emerged from the final media timeout of the half with 1:34 remaining to the half and Baruch having extended its lead to seven points, its highest of the game to that point. Garrison Watkins scored the next two baskets and Evelyn made it seven straight Bloodhound points with his 19th point of the first half to tie things up at 45-all.

Baruch stretched every tick of the final 27 seconds of the first half and took a 47-45 lead to the locker room.

Evelyn's 19 first-half points nearly matched his previous full-game season high mark (20 points vs. CCNY on Jan. 17) and kept the Bloodhounds in striking distance.

The Hempstead, N.Y. native made it a season high out of the break to tie the game at 49 apiece. Baruch's high-rate offense was quick to push its lead up to the previous game high (7) with a 7-0 run in 1:17.

Both team's scoring ground to a halt with a scoring drought of nearly two minutes headed towards the 14:00 minute mark, but the CUNYAC leaders cemented their advantage by responding with a 12-0 scoring streak, leading 70-54 with 10:55 to play in regulation.

The Bloodhounds were frequent visitors to the free-throw line down the stretch, hitting 12-13 shots to work towards a comeback. Jeremiah Cardi was perfect in consecutive appearances at the stripe to work the Baruch lead down to just six points with 2:24 remaining, but the Bearcats sealed the victory by scoring the next eight points.

Evelyn finished the night with a career-high 33 points (8-13 FG, 2-3 3PT, 15-18 FT) and 8 assists. His 33 points, 8 assists 15 made free-throws and 18 free throw attempts mark or match season-highs for any Bloodhound during the 2023-24 campaign.

NEXT UP: The Bloodhounds look to bounce back with another CUNYAC battle at The Doghouse on Saturday, taking on Brooklyn College on Feb. 3 at 3:00 p.m.