New York, NY - Holding a two-point advantage at the break, the John Jay men's basketball team withstood a late surge from the visiting Brooklyn College Bulldogs as the Bloodhounds held off the comeback rally for a 63-61 home triumph on Wednesday evening.
With the win, the Bloodhounds even its conference record to 6-6 (8-15 overall) while Brooklyn falls to 7-5 in league play (9-14 overall).
Following tonight's result, John Jay currently sits in fifth place in the league standings. Lehman is the regular-season champion at 12-0, with Baruch, Brooklyn, and York tied at 7-5. The Bloodhounds hold a one-game lead over CCNY, who they will see on Saturday for Senior Day.
Senior guard
Jamir Stewart led all scorers with 21 points in 38 minutes, his ninth game this season going over the 20-point mark.
Aidony Nivar registered his fifth 20-point game since making his debut, as he shot 6 of 17 from the field while hitting on 4 of 12 from the outside and grabbing seven rebounds.
Reigning CUNYAC Player of the Week,
Keyshawn Miller, played the full 40 minutes and finished with ten points, six rebounds, six assists, and five steals.
Brooklyn had three players score in double-figures, led by Joe Charles, who finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in 38 minutes. D'Aze Hunter tallied 15 points on 7-of-15 shooting while adding eight caroms. Teammate Herbert Gary notched a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds while going 5 of 7 from the field.
John Jay opened the contest on a 9-0 run with Stewart and Nivar combining for seven of the first nine points. Brooklyn responded over the next five minutes with a 9-4 burst, cutting the deficit to two, 11-9, on a turnaround jumper by Abdoulaye Gueye.
The Bloodhounds extended their lead to 23-18, following a floating jumper by Stewart with 5:39 left in the first half. Brooklyn finished the half scoring ten of the final 17 points with John Jay holding on to a 30-28 lead.
The Bulldogs opened the second half on a 10-4 run, as the visitors claimed a 38-34 lead on a Charles driving layup. Stewart stopped the run with a three-pointer on the ensuing Bloodhound possession.In what turned out to be a game of runs, the Bloodhounds regained a slim two-point advantage, 47-45, on another Stewart long-range triple at the 9:21 mark.
Towards the later stages of the contest, Miller cruised in the paint for a layup, upping John Jay's lead to 58-54 with 3:16 left in regulation. Hall made both his attempts from the free-throw line as John Jay's lead decreased to a single possession, 60-58, with two minutes remaining in regulation.
Nivar missed a layup but regained the loose ball before being fouled. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native calmly sank both chances as John Jay led 62-58. Hunter converted on the other end with a jumper as Brooklyn trailed again by two, 62-60.
Nivar had a chance to extend the lead, but misjudged on his layup chance as Hall pulled in the defensive rebound, prompting a foul from
Alsseny Diallo. Hall made the front end of the two-shot foul as
Amare Jordan came away with the rebound.
Jordan hit the backend of the two-shot foul, as John Jay led 63-61, with the Bloodhounds calling a timeout. When play resumed, Gueye misfired on a three-pointer before Gary tracked down the loose ball and called a timeout.
Brooklyn got a look at a three-pointer that would have won the game, but the shot misfired from Hunter as Nivar collected the loose ball as John Jay notched its second straight win.
For the game, John Jay was held to 31.3 percent from the field and 21.6 percent from the outside. The Bloodhounds were outmuscled on the boards, 47-42.
The Bloodhounds committed their third-lowest turnover total, finishing with eight turnovers. John Jay will host Senior Day on Saturday, February 14, when they welcome CCNY at 3:00 p.m.
