New York- The Hunter College men's basketball team fell to John Jay in a thrilling CUNYAC battle on Friday evening.

John Jay (6-10, 4-3 CUNYAC) came out hot, going up 9-0 to start the game. The Hawks (8-10, 4-7 CUNYAC) were quick to respond though, and had closed the gap to one in just four minutes. The Bloodhounds responded again, and with just three minutes left, the Hawks were down 39-33. A pair of back-to-back threes from Hiroki Hamazaki put Hunter back on top in the final minute of the half.

Jeremy Montrose then hit a duo of consecutive layups to close out the period as Hunter led 52-46 headed into the intermission.

Hunter continued to lead through the second half, despite John Jay coming within two at 12 minutes in. Hunter pulled away once again with unanswered threes by Hamazaki and Raheem Bakary, following a steal from Ryan Lau.

Eventually, the Bloodhounds fought their way back on top, but three free-throws from Luka Jakic tied the game up with just two minutes remaining. Ultimately John Jay overwhelmed the Purple and Gold in the final minutes and the home team fell, 105-101. 

Jakic led the team with 20 points and nine rebounds on the night, followed by Bakary with 18 points and eight rebounds. Hamazaki also recorded 16 points. Jakic, Bakary, and Hamazaki knocked down a trio of threes each as the team recorded 15 overall. 

Hunter forced 33 turnovers, compared to the visitor's 21. Although the Hawks were out-rebounded 56-33, John Jay recorded just seven steals while the Purple and Gold grabbed 17, including four by Montrose and three each from Joash Nyarko and Cormac Reilly

The team returns to action on Feb. 1 for another conference matchup at Medgar-Evers. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m.