New York, NY – For the second time in less than a week the Hawks battled Baruch College in their own gym, except this time it was in the Quarterfinal of the CUNY Athletic Conference Championship Tournament and the fifth-seeded Hawks took down the fourth-seeded Bearcats 90-67 behind the scoring of senior guard Marlon Smith (Bronx, NY/Archbishop Molloy) who scored 37 points, the fifth highest in CUNYAC Tournament History since Jeff Keizer of CCNY scored 37 points in a tournament contest that dates back to 1969.

Hunter now advances to the Semifinals for the first time in ten years and will face the top seeded York College at 5:30 p.m. at Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of CCNY this Tuesday, February 19.

Hunter, who shot 53.7% from the field and 14-of-21 from downtown, broke the game open in the first, running up a 16 point (33-17) lead on a 19-7 run with 5:17 left in the first. Baruch was able to cut the lead to single digits heading into the intermission, with Hunter leading 40-33.

The Hawks opened up the second on fire, running up their lead to 21 points on a 24-8 run with 13:01 left in the game and just depleting any life the Bearcats had left in them. The Hawks would lead by as many as 30 before earning the 23 point victory.

"It has been a very emotional and up-and-down time during the past two weeks for our team with injuries and roster changes," said Head Coach Nick Plevritis. "However, the guys really responded tonight and executed the game plan very well."

Four of the Hawks starters finished in double-figures, led by Smith and then followed by junior forward Michael Dodd (Jamaica, NY/Hillcrest) who drained four three-pointers en route to a 20 point performance and a game high nine rebounds. Senior guard Gerard Ciarleglio (Bradenton, FL/Cardinal Mooney) had a season high 18 points while shooting 67% from beyond the arc, and junior forward Frantz Millien (Rockland, NY/North Rockland) added 11 and seven rebounds.

Another key factor in the game was the two teams performance at the free-throw line as Hunter sank 18-of-21 including a perfect 9-for-9 from Smith, while Baruch struggled making just 5-of-17 from the charity stripe.

Bearcat guard Tammar Farid (Woodside, NY/Stuyvesant) kept his team in the game with 19 points and seven rebounds, he was followed by sophomore forward George Kunkel (Glendale, NY/Archbishop Molloy) with 18 points and nine boards.

In their only meeting of the season, Hunter defeated York College 81-70 led by Dodd who finished with a game high 19 points back on January 30 at the Hunter Sportsplex.