New York, NY – The men's basketball team fell to Baruch College earlier this evening by a score of 61-50. The long-time CUNYAC rivals headed into the half with a five point differential in favor of Baruch, but Hunter (11-12, 7-7 CUNYAC) was unable to close the gap in the second as they were turned away with their second straight CUNYAC loss.
Both
George Keener and
Amer Lukac posted double-doubles in the loss. Each had 13 points while Keener pulled down 10 misses and Lukac with 14.
Matt Franks and
Danny Fusco combined for 15 points and nine rebounds.
It was not until nearly three minutes into the game when Franks scored the first bucket of the game on a feed from Lukac. It was a sluggish start for both teams as the score was knotted at just 7-7 after over seven minutes ticked away. The hosts knocked down nine unanswered points while the Hawks failed to knock down a field goal over two straight possessions, resulting in a 16-7 deficit at the halfway mark.
Lukac successfully converted a three-point play to keep his team within striking distance while Keener did the same with a triple to make it a three point affair with just over five minutes left in the half. Three straight points by Fusco made it all square at 20; the first tie in over 10 minutes. Keener knocked down another triple with 1:48 showing to put the Hawks up one with 1:48 left but a turnover and a deep three from Baruch's William Sixsmith sent the game into halftime with the Hawks in a 28-23 hole.
The Purple and Gold kept within arms length through the initial seven minutes, but fell victim to eight unanswered points to set them back by 13; a deficit they ultimately would not recover from. With under five minutes left to play, Hunter used a 6-0 run to pull within six, but the Bearcats responded and bolstered their lead back to double digits with under a minute left to play and would eventually hold on for the win.
The Hawks return to action on Saturday, February 10 when they host CCNY at the Sportsplex on senior day. Tip-off is slated for a 3pm start.
