NEW YORK, NY – A pair of late free throws by Joel Cerda proved to be the difference as the Hunter College men's basketball team knocked off Yeshiva University, 65-63 to spoil their home opener at the MSAC on Tuesday evening.
Hunter improves to 2-2 on the year while the Maccabees drop to 0-4 on the season.
Jeffrey Daza paced the Hawks, finishing with 19 points, three assists and three rebounds. Cerda finished the game with 12 points and a team-high five assists, adding three rebounds.
Terry Carpenter led the Hawks with five rebounds and added seven points.
With the game tied at 63-all and Hunter already in the bonus, Yeshiva fouled Cerda with just six seconds remaining in regulation. The senior knocked down both shots from the charity stripe to give the Hawks a 65-63 advantage. The Maccabees did attempt to launch a three as time expired but the shot fell short as the Hawks held on for the victory.
The Hawks led early in the contest, with a 24-12 lead at the 9:10 mark however Yeshiva played aggressively, going on a 19-5 run to take a four-point lead into the break, 33-29. In the second, the Macs extended their lead to six but no more as the Hawks struck back, tying the game at 46-46 at the 13:29 mark. From there the game teetered back-and-forth till the end as the final 13 minutes featured four lead changes and four ties with neither side claiming definitive control over the game.
As a squad the Hawks shot 46.9% from the field and were hot behind the arc, connecting on 9-14 shots attempted for 64.3% and finished the night 58.8% in free throws.
Hunter returns to action after the holiday as they open CUNY Athletic Conference competition at John Jay on Tuesday, November 29 at 7pm.
