SylGranda
Joel-Anthony Alleyne
76
John Jay JJCMBB 8-4
91
Winner Westfield St. WESTFIEL 10-3
John Jay JJCMBB
8-4
76
Final
91
Westfield St. WESTFIEL
10-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
John Jay JJCMBB 34 42 76
Westfield St. WESTFIEL 38 53 91

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | John Jay Sports Information

Fast Start From Bloodhounds Not Enough As Men's Hoops Drops First Game Of 2025, 91-76, At Westfield State

Westfield, MA - Sophomore wing Syl Granda poured in a career afternoon, but it wasn't enough as the John Jay men's basketball team dropped its first game of 2025 at Westfield State, 91-76.  

John Jay (8-4) saw its three-game winning streak halted in their first-ever meeting against the Owls. Westfield State improves to 10-3 on the season after picking up their fourth straight victory.

Granda powered the Bloodhounds in the afternoon, netting a career-high 27 points on 10 of 16 shooting while recording his first double-double of the season, matching a season/career-best with 11 rebounds and eight coming on the defensive end. Keyshawn Miller was the second player to reach double-figures as he netted 14 points while converting on 6 of 7 from the free-throw line.

Six Owls (10-3) scored in double-figures, led by Lid Moreland, who netted a team-high 22 points on 8 of 25 shooting while corralling a team-best 11 rebounds in 33 minutes of action. Eric Johnson came within a rebound of a double-double, finishing with 17 points on 5 of 6 shooting from the field while hitting a perfect 7 of 7 from the charity stripe in 37 minutes of work. Kobe Parker added 13 points off the bench, while Kenneth Rogers, Jr., and Timmy Jacobus each had 11 points. A.Z. Allah rounded out the double-digit scoring performances with 10 in a reserve capacity. 

John Jay came out firing on all cylinders, starting the contest on a 12-3 run following a pair of made free-throws by Jordan Evelyn at the 15:52 mark. The Owls responded with a 12-3 outburst of their own, capped by a jumper by Xavier Lewis that tied the contest at 15-15 with 11:29 to go before halftime. Shawn Serrata stopped Westfield's run with a fastbreak layup off the feed from Jamir Stewart as John Jay regained the lead, 17-15.

The Owls started to increase their lead, 26-22, on a jumper from Allah just before Stewart dialed up a three-pointer for the visitors, bringing the lead down  to one, 26-25, with six minutes to go before the break. Westfield State scored 12 of the final 21 points to conclude the first half of action, but the Bloodhounds grabbed the momentum as Granda scored on a layup with 30 seconds left in the stanza as the Owls led 38-34 heading into the locker rooms. 

Granda led all scorers after the first 20 minutes of action, scoring 11 points on 3 of 5 shooting from the field in 18 minutes of work. John Jay held a 27-22 edge on the boards while the Owls forced 11 first-half turnovers by the visitors, yielding just three.

John Jay continued to build off the end of the first half, as Granda scored all eight points (two three-pointers and a layup) to tie the game at 42. Jacobus responded with five straight points for the home team, upping their lead to 47-42.

The Bloodhounds were again able to trim the deficit to three following another layup from Stewart. Westfield staged a 10-1 run, increasing their lead to 64-52 as Rogers Jr. converted in the paint. The Owls went up to 75-61 with 7:09 left in regulation following two made free-throws by Parker. The Bloodhounds fought back, outscoring the home team 12-5, to get the lead down to five, 81-76, with 2:36 showing on the game clock as Isaac Holmes hit a three-pointer off the feed from Granda.

Westfield State closed the contest on a 10-0 run to halt the Bloodhounds' win streak. John Jay shot 42.4 percent from the field, while the Owls hit 41.0 percent. Westfield State held a 49-43 edge on the boards.

The Bloodhounds will resume their CUNYAC conference tilt as they head to York College on Wednesday, January 8, at 7:00 p.m.
Print Friendly Version