New York, NY – Trailing by ten points with 5:29 left in the game, the Hawks garnered a 15-5 run to take their final lead of the game with just under two minutes left and would go on to defeat Saint Joseph's College 91-88 in a non-conference men's basketball match-up on Monday at the Hunter Sportsplex.

Saint Joseph's opened up the game strong, taking an early 15-5 and would hold their largest lead of the game, 13 points, midway through the half. Senior guard Phil Lipari (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) led the Golden Eagles' surge in with 18 points in the first ten minutes of the game.

However, Hunter answered back with a 17-4 run to tie the game up at 38-38 and would take their first lead of the game following a three pointer by freshman guard Justin Antes (Dedeo, Guam / Franklin Township) with 1:51 left in the half. Antes finished the game with nine points and five assists in 30 minutes off the bench. Hunter led after the first half, 50-47.

The second half opened similar to the first, with the Golden Eagles taking control of the game a few minutes in and ran it up to a ten point lead with 5:11 left in the game. This is when Hunter sparked a 15-5 run and reclaimed the lead on a pair of free-throws from Antes, who scored the final three point of the game to give Hunter their twelfth in of the season.

Senior guard Marlon Smith (Bronx, NY/Archbishop Molloy) led Hunter in scoring with 21 points and finished with six assists, while junior guard Joseph DeLuca (Maspeth, NY/Christ the King) was a driving force in the second half, scoring 12 of his 20 points in the second stanza.

Junior forward Frantz Millien (Rockland, NY/North Rockland) added 16 points and eight boards, while senior guard Gerard Ciarleglio (Bradenton, FL/Cardinal Mooney) finished with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists in his final regular season home game of his career.

Saint Joseph's junior guard David Acree (Brentwood, NY/Brentwood) led all scorers with 24 points before fouling out in the closing minute. He was then followed by Lipari's 21 points, and sophomore forward Sean Hyde's (Shirley, NY/William Floyd) double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Hunter returns to the court on Thursday, February 7 when they head down to Baruch College for the second meeting in the famed “Battle of Lexington” rivalry. The game will be the second game of a doubleheader with the women's team playing at 5:30 p.m. and the men following at 7:30 p.m. In their last meeting, the Hawks defeated Baruch 93-80 on January 25 led by DeLuca and Millen's 24 points.

– Hunter –