Box Score
New York, NY – On Sunday, February 20, the men's basketball team took on arch rivals Baruch College in the quarterfinal round of the CUNYAC/Con Edison Men's Basketball Tournament. The Hawks struggled in the first half, shooting just over 30 percent from the field and connecting on only one three pointer which resulted in an eight point deficit heading into halftime. However, they bounced back and outscored the Bearcats by 13 in the second half on the strength of Mark Courtein,
John Akinyemi and
Jeffrey Daza's double digit scoring efforts and edged their counterparts by a score of 68-63, advancing to the semi-finals. With the win, Hunter moves to 13-13 while Baruch ends their season at 15-11.
The Hawks struggled from the start and found themselves in a 13-2 hole in the opening 5:14 as Akinyemi was the only player able to get a score on seven total attempts. Hunter continued to struggle as they connected on just eight of 26 attempts from the field and turned the ball over nine times which added to the deficit that grew to 12 with 5:40 left to play. They slowly cut it in half with just under 1:30 to play, but Sean Loftus of the Bearcats connected on a layup to score the final basket of the half to give his team a 28-20 cushion.
Despite cutting the lead down to six within the first five minutes, Baruch pulled away again, separating themselves by 13 points at the 12:50 mark. A three pointer from Courtein sparked and capped a 15-2 Hawk run that gave them a two point advantage, 45-43 for their first lead of the game. It was short lived as Tammer Farid responded with a three pointer of his own to retake the lead and extend it back to six points with 4:21 left to play.
Hunter continued to fight to stay in the game as Izzy Hoffman hit a clutch three pointer to shift the momentum of the game and give his team a boost. Back to back layups by Joel Cerda and Hoffman were followed up with a three pointer by Daza to give the Hawks a 60-58 advantage with just 39 seconds to go. Jason Cole connected on back to back shots from the charity stripe to keep the Hawks up by three, but a layup by Loftus cut it back to just one with 19 seconds remaining.
After the inbound, a quick foul sent Anthony Uter to the line where he sunk both attempts, making it a 64-61 game with 16 seconds left. Again, Loftus, on a dish from Farid, scored a layup and made it a one point game. Another quick foul sent Cole to the line again where he repeated his efforts and drained both attempts. After a missed Bearcat three point attempt, Uter grabbed the rebound and was fouled immediately with just two seconds left. He made both attempts to make it a five point Hunter lead as time would run out on the Bearcats.
Courtien led the Hawks with 15 points and connecting on three of five from behind the arc while Akinyemi had 12 points and Daza collected 11. Loftus led all comers with a game high 16 while Chris Beauchamp and Lionel Hilaire had 15 and 12 points respectively for the Bearcats.
The Hawks advance to the CUNYAC/Con Edison Semifinals on Wednesday, February 23 where they will take on #2 Medgar Evers College. Tipoff is slated for an 8:00 pm start at championship host institution, CCNY.
Admission to the game is free but you must obtain a ticket in advance as they are required upon entry. For tickets and information, stop by the main athletic office located in the West Building on the B3 level, room 317 or call (212) 772-4783. The Athletic Department is also offering a fan van to those who wish to see the game. For information, stop by the Campus Recreation Office in the West Building room 315 or call Michael Belfiore at (212) 772-4912 to sign up as seats are limited and are on a first come first serve basis.
