New York, NY - The John Jay men's basketball team continued its homestand on Wednesday evening, hosting Maritime College for a mid-week test at The Doghouse.
Jamir Stewart set another career high in this non-conference contest, hitting 11 of 12 attempts from the free-throw line. Stewart scored at least 24 points in two straight games for the first time in his career.
After trailing by as many as seven points in the final five minutes, the Bloodhounds tied the game twice in the last three minutes but could not hold off the undefeated Privateers down the stretch.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Maritime's Jake Devaney scored the opening points of the contest and pushed the Privateers' lead up to eight points, 13-5, in the first four minutes of the half.
Devaney picked up a technical foul just after his first successful three-point attempt of the evening, and the Bloodhounds used the free throws and the following possession to pull within four points.
Maritime's Tyler Anderson was a key driver of the visitors' offense, totaling 14 points on 50% shooting from the field, helping Maritime's lead balloon to as high as 11 points in the first half.
The Bloodhounds answered the bell after the deficit reached double digits. Syl Granda's step-back three-pointer just before the halfway point of the first half kicked off an 8-0 run, finished with a pair of layups by Stewart.
John Jay trailed by just three points with 8:15 to play.
The Bloodhounds traded baskets with Anderson in the final five minutes, with the Privateers' guard scoring seven straight points.
The hosts finally managed to shake the three-point deficit with less than two minutes to play in the half, when Jamir Stewart converted his first triple of the night. That three-pointer pushed Stewart into double-digit scoring with 1:44 to play in the half and tied the game at 35-35.
Stewart drove to the rim with under a minute to play in the half with a chance to take the first lead of the game, but his efforts came up short.
Maritime's Jake Murphy pulled down the final rebound of the half and pushed the ball up the court to Jovan Germain, who hit his first three of the game with 41 seconds remaining. He sent his team to the locker room with a 40-37 lead.
Three-point shooting put the Bloodhounds in front for the first time in the opening two minutes of the second half.
Granda seized on a Miller steal on the first Maritime possession of the second half, hitting his second three of the game to tie things up at 40-all.
Miller gave the Bloodhounds the lead on the next trip down the floor, hitting another triple to put John Jay ahead, 43-42.
The Yonkers native gave the Bloodhounds their largest lead of the game just before the under-16 media timeout, hitting a putback floater to go up, 46-42.
John Jay hung with Maritime despite a four-minute field goal drought, going 4-4 at the free throw line in the stretch. After Germain tied the game for Maritime with his second three of the game, Stewart broke the drought with his own three-pointer just before the 12:00 mark.
The Bloodhounds clung to their three-point shooting in the second half, hitting over 50% of their field goals from beyond the arc, including one by Jeremiah Cardi with 9:41 to play to put John Jay up, 56-54.
Despite the success from distance, the Bloodhounds could not convert in the paint and battled through a five-minute field goal drought. Maritime took advantage with a 10-2 run to take a six-point lead.
Emmanuel Adenekan shook off the shooting chill for the home side with under five minutes to play, taking the feed from Stewart and getting the bench up with a dunk.
Stewart scored the next five points, including a second-chance three that tied the game with three minutes remaining.
The lack of field goals came back to bite the Bloodhounds in the finals, as a Maritime 8-1 run clinched the victory for the visitors.
Jamir Stewart led all shooters with 24 points, hitting 3-7 three-point attempts and going 11-12 from the free-throw line.
Keyshawn Miller posted a career-best with 16 points on 5-11 shooting, adding seven rebounds.
Syl Granda finished with 12 points.
NEXT UP: The Bloodhounds continue the homestand on Saturday, Nov. 23, facing Russell Sage as part of a men's/women's doubleheader at The Doghouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
