New York, NY - After being down by as much as 21 points, Hunter College closed the deficit to just eight with two minutes to play, but eventually fell at the Hunter Sportsplex on Wednesday to the City College of New York, 84-73. The Hawks are 2-18 this season and 2-9 in conference play.

Matt Franks and Amer Lukac led the Hawks with 19 points each, while Dan Shulman followed with 15, going 4-4 from behind the arc. Bryan Silvera recorded a game-high 11 rebounds for Hunter. The team shot 28-64 from the floor for a 43.8 shooting percentage, while the Beavers recorded a 53.4 shooting percentage. 

CCNY took the early lead in the game, already leading by 13 points just five minutes into the half. Twelve first-half points from Franks helped the Hawks trail by just six points with 10:30 left in the first, but the Beavers would close out the half by outscoring Hunter 20-7 to make the score, 43-24. 

The Hawks started the second half strong, hitting two quick shots from Brian Kruger and Robert Borusiewicz, but the Beavers scored six-straight points to go up by 20. A 7-0 run from Hunter would cut the lead to 14, but CCNY once again responded by taking advantage of Hunter turnovers and making the score 58-40.

A new lineup from the Hunter bench gave the Hawks a second wind with 13 minutes to play as Shulman hit back-to-back three pointers to spearhead an 11-6 run for Hunter and trail by just 13 points. Shulman and Lukac would then combine for 15 points over the next three and a half minutes to cut CCNY's lead to just eight points with two minutes to play. The Hawks were forced to foul in the remaining minutes, eventually falling to the Beavers, 84-73.

Hunter returns to action on Friday, Jan. 29 for a 8 p.m. game at John Jay College.