New York, NY – Sophomore guard Mark Courtien (Pelham, NY/Pelham Memorial) tied a career high of 19 points, shooting 4-of-6 from downtown, but in the end, his efforts would be enough as the Hawks drop a heartbreaking loss to York College who remain unbeaten in CUNY Athletic Conference play with a 68-65 win on Wednesday night at the Hunter Sportsplex.

Trailing 68-65 with 32 second left in the game, Hunter had several chances to close the gap. Following a missed three-point attempt by junior guard Maxwell Dubois (Hollywood, FL/Dillard), Dubois intercepted a pass on the ensuing inbounds, but was called for his fifth and final foul while attempting to drive to the basket. A second Hunter foul on the next inbounds to stop the clock would put York senior guard Nicholas Hamilton-Lopez to the line, where he missed both attempts. Courtien got the rebound and passed the ball up the court, but the Hawks got hit with a quick double team and couldn't get a shot off in time before the buzzer sounded.

As a team, the Hawks shot 17-of-19 from the free throw line, led by junior guard Rocco Rubino (Brooklyn, NY/Archbishop Molloy) who went 7-for 7 and scored 14 points. Dubois finished the game with 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while junior center Panagiotis Koutsoloukas (Marousi, Greece/Lycioum Paralimniou Cyprus) had a season high ten points and 11 rebounds in his most action of the season.

York was led by junior forward Marcel Esonwune had a monster game with 22 points and 20 rebounds. Also contributing to tonight's victory were freshman forward Shamir Wilkinson who scored 14 points, senior guard Elijah Evelyn with 11 points and senior guard Ryan Exum netted ten points along with eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.

The Cardinals now improve to 13-5 overall and remain atop the CUNYAC with a 7-0 record, while the Hawks drop to 7-10 on the year and 3-3 in the conference. Hunter will be back in action on Friday when they host the Dolphins of the College of Staten Island for a 7:00 p.m. conference match.