New York, NY - Senior guard
Jamir Stewart closed out 2025 by achieving a career milestone, as he became the 15th John Jay men's basketball player to score 1,000 points.
The Bloodhounds battled in a back-and-forth non-conference tilt at last season's NCAA National Runner-Ups, the NYU Violets, trailing 31-18 at halftime before falling to the Violets, 77-54 at the John A Paulson Center on Tuesday afternoon.
Stewart led the Bloodhounds (2-10) with a game-high 17 points on 4 of 10 shooting from the field while converting 7 of 8 from the free throw line. At the 16:17 mark of the second, Stewart netted the 1,000th and 1,001st points of his career at the free-throw line.
Newcomer
Aidony Nivar, the 2023-24 CUNYAC Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year, made his season debut for John Jay, netting 14 points on 4 of 11 shooting, with all four made field goals coming from three-point range.
Keyshawn Miller filled up the statsheet for the visitors, finishing with eight points, a team-leading ten rebounds, six assists, two steals, and a block in 31 minutes of action.
NYU (9-1) had three players score in double-figures, led by Alex Daniels, who tallied 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field and hit 4 of 7 from three-point range. Luke Kolaja added 15 points on 6 of 15 shooting while recording a game-high three blocks and matching Daniels with seven rebounds. Henry Bickford rounded out the double-digit scoring with 12 points in 11 minutes on a 5-of-8 shooting display from the field. Carnegie Johnson finished two points shy of a triple-double for the Violets, netting eight points, nine rebounds, and nine assists.
The Violets grabbed a 6-2 early lead on a Bryan Mussako layup before Stewart responded with his first points of the contest, a three-pointer, which narrowed his chase for 1,000 to just five points.
Both teams struggled to find their rhythm from the floor, despite an 8-2 run by NYU that doubled their lead to 14-7 at the 10:54 mark of the first half. The Bloodhounds answered back with an 8-2 run of their own, with Nivar connecting on a pair of trifectas before
Rayan Meguie added a layup as John Jay trailed 16-15, with 8:05 to play before halftime.
NYU closed out the opening half outscoring John Jay, 15-3, as the Violets went 6 of 12 down the stretch while holding the Bloodhounds to just one made field goal, another Nivar three-pointer, as the Violets claimed a 31-18 halftime lead.
Both teams shot less than 30.0 percent from the field while combining on just 8 of 38 from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes. NYU was a +20 on the boards in the first half, highlighted by a 16-3 advantage on the offensive glass.
The two teams opened the second trading baskets for the first four minutes of the half, splitting the 22 points evenly as John Jay went 3 -5 from the field and NYU went 5-6. Stewart paced the Bloodhounds with six points, which included the milestone 1,000th career point from the free-throw line at the 16:17 mark.
The Bloodhounds got to within 11, 47-36, following another made free-throw from Stewart. John Jay was outscored 28-18 over the final 12 minutes of the stanza, with the Violets hitting 11 of 21 from the field, as Kolaja, Bickford, and Darius Gakwasi combined for 24 of the 28 points down the stretch.
Both teams collectively shot better in the second half, with John Jay hitting on 40.7 percent from the field (11 of 27) while NYU hit on 54.3 percent (19 of 35).
For the game, the Bloodhounds finished at a 32.1 percent clip (18 of 56) while NYU hit on 40.0 percent (32 of 80). John Jay converted on 11 of 13 from the free-throw line (84.6 percent) while NYU only hit on 4 of 5 (80.0 percent).
John Jay opens 2026 with their final non-conference contest as they travel to Albany, NY to square off against Russell Sage on Friday, January 2 at 2:00 p.m.
