New York, NY - The John Jay men's basketball returned home to The Doghouse on Wednesday to face an early test at the top of the CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC).
Two of the CUNYAC's three teams without a loss in conference play faced off just west of Columbus Circle, as Baruch (6-8, 3-0 CUNYAC) traveled to face the Bloodhounds (10-4, 3-0 CUNYAC).
In an early battle for first place, the visitors jumped out to a 7-0 lead, capped by a Dylan Minnick layup.The Bloodhounds got their first point of the half at the 14:56 mark as
Syl Granda made one of two from the line.
Baruch's lead stretched to 15-1 on a Trevon Coppin jumper. Granda spearheaded the offense down the stretch as the sophomore hit six of the team's next 14 points. His efforts helped bring the deficit down to 29-15 with 3:02 left to go before halftime.
Jamir Stewart made a pair of free throws with 2:01 left in the first half before Baruch scored the final two buckets. The Bearcats took a 33-17 halftime lead to the locker room.
Granda picked up where he left off in the second half, scoring seven of the first ten points out of the break.
A pair of three-pointers by
Isaac Holmes just over the halfway mark of the second frame, pulled the Bloodhounds within single digits of Baruch for the first time since the opening minutes.
As the home side looked to pull themselves back into contention, the Bearcats had an answer for every made Bloodhound basket. The two were even at 33-all for the second half with three minutes remaining, despite a combined 36 points from Granda and Stewart.
The Bloodhounds capped the game with a 9-3 run in the final three minutes but fell, 71-61.
Granda and Stewart each finished with 19 points in the game. Granda made his outing a double-double, adding a team-high 12 rebounds.
Jordyn Evelyn closed with a game-high four assists, adding eight points.
Emmanuel Adenekan led all players with four blocks.
NEXT UP: The Bloodhounds travel to The Bronx on Saturday, Jan. 18 to face the Lehman College Lightning, which currently sits undefeated in CUNYAC play. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
