New York, NY - The John Jay men's basketball team capped an improbable week on Friday night at The ARC Arena. The two-seed Bloodhounds made the most of their berth into the CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Tournament championship, upsetting the top-seed Baruch College Bearcats, 80-70.

The win marks the program's second conference tournament championship, and first since 2008. The championship is the first for head coach Ryan Hyland.

Junior guard Jamir Stewart was named the championship's Most Valuable Player, finishing with 23 points on 50% field goal shooting.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Bloodhounds yanked away the early momentum from the home crowd after splashing three straight three-pointers to open the game. The visitors led 9-2 to open the proceedings, forcing the Bearcats to call their first timeout.

Baruch wrestled its way back into the game on the offensive glass, extending five possessions with offensive rebounds in the opening seven minutes.

John Jay used six first-half triples to keep pace with the extra Baruch possessions, three of those coming from the hands of Isaac Holmes. He led the Bloodhounds with nine points in the opening 20 minutes.

The visitors kept the game at one possession's length, or led, for 8 minutes, until a final triple by CUNYAC Player of the Year Gerard Nicholson gave Baruch a 37-30 halftime lead.

After the Bearcats' Trevon Coppin added to Baruch's lead out of break, Jeremiah Cardi scored six straight points to pull within three points of the lead. Baruch later went up by seven points before both teams ceased to find the basket for nearly the next three minutes.

The next stretch turned the game for good for the Bloodhounds. Stewart and Jordan Evelyn converted on consecutive drives to the basket to pull John Jay within three points and force Baruch to take a timeout. Keyshawn Miller came up with a steal and a score out of the time out to cut the hosts' lead to one point.

Miller later gave the Bloodhounds their first lead since the first half, 44-43, at the free-throw line with 12:30 remaining in the frame. Baruch put the Bloodhounds in the second half bonus in just under eight minutes, sending the Bloodhounds to the free-throw line six times in the game clinching run.

Coach Hyland's zone defense held Baruch to just two points over a 6:12 stretch, while his offense outscored the Bearcats 22-2 over that time. Stewart was responsible for 11 of those 12 points.

With a lead firmly in place, the Bloodhounds still had answer for every shot in the final eight minutes. John Jay outscored the Bearcats, 50-33, in the second half after the Bearcats scored the final eight points of regulation.

John Jay secured its second program conference championship with an 80-70 victory over Baruch. The Bloodhounds have now won both conference titles by a double-digit margin. Friday's victory is also the Bloodhounds' first win at the ARC Arena since Feb. 9, 2012.

Stewart's MVP performance netted John Jay 23 points on 7-14 shooting and 8-9 free throw shooting. He added seven rebounds and two assists and drew a game-high eight fouls.

Evelyn finished a championship performance with 15 points and 7 assists. Cardi was just behind with 14 points on 3-3 shooting from three-point range.

Miller was the fourth Bloodhound with double-digit scoring, closing out with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.

NEXT UP: The Bloodhounds will represent the CUNYAC as the conference's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. They will learn their opponent and destination during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Monday, Mar. 3 at 12:00 p.m.