New York, NY - Hunter's men's basketball team took on downtown New York City rivals, Baruch College on Friday evening in a CUNYAC matchup. After playing the Bearcats to a two point advantage by halftime, the hosts surged to a 52 point second half in which the Purple and Gold were unable to respond to. The 86-72 holds the Hawks with two wins.

Gerard Carty poured in a season high 19 points on 7-15 shooting from the field while Alex Mattina had a big game, knocking down 4-6 from behind the arc and adding 18 points in the loss. Brian Kruger was an efficient 4-7 from the floor and 6-8 from the charity stripe which contiributed to his 15 point outing. Matt Franks snagged nine rebounds as he helped his team win the battle under the hoop, 36-32.

The first half featured six lead changes and five ties. Carty's jumper early on gave the Hawks their first lead of the game at 6-4, but the Bearcats responded with 10 unanswered points. A triple by William Sixsmith made it a nine point game, the largest margin of the half, at the 10:49 mark. However, the Hawks fired back with an 11-0 run bookmarked by two Mattina free throws on each end, giving his squad a two point advantage at 26-24 with 5:49 showing on the clock. 

It was short lived after a jumper, folowed up by a three pointer by the Bearcats allowed them to regain the lead. The Purple and Gold ended the half strong on a 6-0 run sparked by Kruger's jumper and capped with a Mattina trey, setting the stage for a 36-34 Hunter lead heading into hafltime.

Despite holding on to a slim margin through the opening five minutes, Hunter found themselves down by four with 9:46 left to play. From that point on, Baruch's offense went on a surge gradually growing their lead into double figures and reaching as much as 17 points. Bryan Silvera ended the game on a converted three-point play that capped the score at 86-72 in favor of the hosts. 

The Hawks return to action on Wednesday, January 27 when they host CCNY at 7pm.