New York, NY - The men's basketball team slipped into a five-game skid after a 91-82 loss to CUNYAC rival John Jay earlier this evening. Despite nine different players tallying at least one point and shooting nearly 55 percent from the field, the Hawks were unable to rebound from a five point halftime deficit and fell to 8-10 overall and 5-5 in CUNYAC play.

Amer Lukac led two other Hawks in double figures after tying a game-high 30 points on 10-16 shooting from the field and an 8-10 performance from the charity stripe to compliment his nine boards. Danny Fusco chipped in with 15 points while George Keener added 14 points, nine rebounds and five steals.

Gio Gabbidon capitalized on an opening possession turnover with a deuce which turned into five unanswered points to start off the game. John Jay bounced back with an 8-0 run to take the lead; the first of 15 changes in the half. At the 8:25 mark, Lukac knocked down a triple to put the Hawks up 22-20 before a near two minute scoring drought from both teams ensued. At the 3:06 mark, on a feed from Gabbidon, James Blair connected on his layup to make it a 33-32 affair which wound up being the last lead the Hawks would hold through the rest of the half. 

The Purple and Gold erased a five-point halftime deficit and turned it into a five point lead at the 11:22 mark which was capped by a George Keener lay in. However, six quick Bloodhound points took away the upper hand. With the score knotted at 65 all, the Hawk offense stalled over the ensuing five minutes, putting in just one bucket while the hosts dropped 16 to give them a 14 point cushion with 3:52 showing on the clock. The gap was too much to overcome as head coach John Pelin's squad would pull no closer than within nine points.

The men's basketball team will take on Medgar Evers College at home on Saturday, January 27 in a CUNYAC matchup. Tip-off is slated for a 3pm start.