NEW YORK, NY - The Hunter College men's basketball team warded off the visitors in a back-and-forth affair to edge John Jay College, 73-72 in overtime on Senior Night at the Sportsplex.

With two minutes to play in overtime, Joel Cerda knocked down a three to put Hunter ahead by four (68-54) and then with 1:10 remaining, Panagiotis Koutsoloukas converted a layup to put the Hawks up by six (70-64). Despite John Jay battling back to within one bucket (72-70) at eight seconds, Koutsoloukas converting his second free throw attempt to put the Hawks ahead by three, proved to be the difference maker tonigh. The Bloodhounds ran the floor and converted a layup but with three seconds remaining, the Hawks retained possession and ran out the clock for the 73-72 overtime win.

Koutsoloukas finished the night as Hunter's leading scorer, notching a double-double as he tallied 17 points and as many rebounds in the victory. He was joined by fellow senior Anthony Uter who ended the night with 16 points while Cerda also finished with 13 to round the Hawks' offensive output. All three seniors, along with Mark Courtien, John Akinyemi, Jeffrey Daza and Mark Wnukowski were honored prior to tonight's game.

Both teams were evenly matched early as they shared a 31-31 lead going into the locker room at halftime. The second stanza featured six score ties and seven lead changes pushing down to the stretch. Just when it seemed the Hawks were in line for the victory in regulation, John Jay caught its second wind and surged back. Then, with just three seconds to go in the period and the Hawks ahead 59-57, John Jay had the opportunity to win the ballgame. A Hunter foul sent Jermoe Alexander to the charity stripe to shoot three baskets, however the guard missed his second attempt, netting two buckets to make it a 59-all affair and send it to overtime.

Alexander finished the night as the game's leading scorer, netting 35 points for the Bloodhounds while Sindwon Charles grabbed a game-high 22 rebounds.

Hunter returns to competition this Sunday, Feburary 5th as it travels to Lehman College for a 2pm tip-off. Please note, the game will be played at Mt. St. Michael's Academy in the Bronx, located at 4300 Murdock Ave. Fans should stay tuned to www.huntercollegeathletics.com for more information regarding transportation and a fan van accessible to students with valid identification cards tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 2nd.