New York, NY – The John Jay men's basketball team battled back in the later stages of the second half but couldn't complete the comeback attempt as the Bloodhounds fell to the visiting Baruch College Bearcats, 73-63, on Tuesday night at The Doghouse.
Senior guard
Jamir Stewart led John Jay's offense with 14 points Teammate
Adrian Kopec contributed key buckets down the stretch, finishing with 13 points.
Keyshawn Miller notched a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and a team-high 12 assists. He is the first Bloodhound player to achieve the feat since Jamar Harry did so back on February 17, 2011, when Harry finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against York.
Aidony Nivar rounded out the double-figure scoring, adding ten points on 3 of 9 shooting from the field and 3 of 8 from beyond-the-arc.
Baruch had three players score in double-figures, led by Trevon Coppin, who finished with 14 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds in 28 minutes of play. Jack Gordon added 13 points on 3 of 6 shooting and going 5 of 5 from the free throw line while Cole Bailey added 10 points on a 4 of 5 shooting clip.
The two teams traded baskets in the early part of the half, before Baruch went on an 8-0 run that built the lead to 14-6 following Gordon making three free-throws. Stewart hit on a driving layup to stop the run.
Baruch established a 19-7 run from that points over the next seven minutes, hitting on 7 of 13 from the floor with four three-pointers as Leyi Adabayo hit a three-pointer that pushed the Bearcats lead to 33-15. John Jay ended the first half with a 9-4 run, as Miller drove the lane for two with 17 seconds left to go before halftime.
After trailing by 13 at the half (37-24), John Jay mounted a response in the second stanza, trimming the deficit behind Stewart,
Alsseny Diallo and Kopec. Down 50-31 at the 14:38 mark, John Jay outscored Baruch, 27-18, over the next 11 minutes, with Stewart's layup at the 2:06 mark trimming the deficit down to 68-58, but Baruch converted down the stretch to hold on for a 73-63 road victory.
John Jay finished the game shooting 44.6 percent from the field while Baruch converted on 46.3 percent from the field. The Bearcats capitalized from three-point range, hitting on 11 of 21 while the Bloodhounds made 10 of 28 from the outside.
The Bloodhounds will look to rebound on Friday, as they travel to Medgar Evers for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.
