New York, NY - The John Jay men's basketball returned to the CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Tournament semifinals for the first time since the 2019-20 season on Tuesday night.
The two-seed Bloodhounds hosted the three-seed Lehman College Lightning in the second round of the CUNYAC Tournament at The Doghouse, with the season sweep and a trip to the conference championship on the line.
After the Bloodhounds battled back to take an early second half lead, the Lightning pulled ahead late, taking a 74-63 win and advancing to the CUNYAC Championship on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bloodhounds battled from behind to open Tuesday's contest. Lehman netted nine of the first eleven points of the half, behind a trio of three pointers by Kunal Bagga.
Lehman led by as many as 13 points before a 12-0 John Jay run cut the visitors' lead to just one point.
Jamir Stewart contributed 7 of the Bloodhounds' 12 points in the stretch.
Both teams struggled from the field outside of scoring runs to start the game, combining to shoot 29.4% from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
After the Bloodhounds pulled within one point of the Lightning with 5:51 to play in the first half,
Keyshawn Miller tied the game at 20-all with 3:27 remaining in the half.
Despite the two sides trading baskets in the final minutes, Bagga's final three of the half was the difference in the halftime scoreline.
The Lightning led, 30-27, headed to the locker room.
John Jay had the spark coming onto the court for the second half, scoring the first eight points of the final frame. The Bloodhounds first lead of the game peaked at 35-30, behind five points from
Jordan Evelyn.
The Bloodhounds' struggles from three-point range continued to haunt them in the second half, hitting just four of their 11 attempts. Lehman was able to create additional possessions through rebounds, outpacing the hosts, 29-16, in that category.
Their lead held until the nine minute mark, when Kai Parris hit his lone three-pointer of the half to give Lehman a 47-46 advantage.
Isaac Holmes answered back with a timely triple in the final five minutes to pull John Jay within two points of the lead. The Bloodhounds were held without a field goal for the next 3:37.
Lehman extended its lead by seven points in that stretch and forced the Bloodhounds to send their shooters to the free-throw line to work their way back into the game.
The Lightning went 8-12 from the line in the final 61 seconds of regulation to secure a 74-63 win. They face top-seed Baruch on Friday evening for the CUNYAC Championship.
Evelyn concluded his tenure at John Jay with a 26 point, 8 rebound and 4 steal performance.
Jamir Stewart was 3-8 from long distance and finished with 15 points.
Miller added 11 points and 7 rebounds.
The Bloodhounds finish the 2024-25 season with an 18-8 record, winning 11 of 14 games in conference. Their season win total is the best since the 2019-20 season and the second-most in the last 20 years.
