Excitement, and disappointment, roared through Baruch College’s ARC Arena on Feb. 5 for the highly anticipated Battle of Lex game, when the Baruch Bearcats faced off against the Hunter College Hawks.
The Battle of Lex, short for Battle of Lexington, is an annual game between the two CUNY colleges for their locations on Lexington Avenue, just 40 blocks apart. The women’s basketball matchup tipped off first at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men’s game, with enthusiasm carrying throughout the night.
In a competitive first quarter, the Bearcats got the ball rolling offensively, with D’Andre McRae starting off with a layup assisted by Lillianna Morales.
They had an efficient quarter, shooting 54.5% from the field, with half of these shots being from beyond the arc. Although Hunter shot very inefficiently from the field with 29.6%, they dominated by forcing nine turnovers.
The Bearcats picked up some momentum in the second quarter with good ball movement, with Isabella Kostyal-Larrier going on a great run that kept the energy alive.
The second quarter, however, is when the Hawks took the wheel. Hunter played much grittier, with Makkedah Murray dominating the boards.
Hunter took advantage of those boards by getting a lot more second chance points. Their shooting efficiency also went up to 57.9% this quarter. The third quarter was a close, defensive game. The Hawks led the entire time but only scored one more point than the Bearcats this quarter.
Baruch’s Lola Idir went on a fantastic run this quarter, in not only scoring but assisting her teammate as well. The Hawks managed to remain steady, despite six turnovers, with Charles scoring 10 points during this quarter alone.
The final quarter of the Battle of Lex was a masterclass from the Hawks. The Bearcats were down 30 points at one point in this quarter. Idir kept her momentum, but by this point, the rest of the team had cut its losses. Both teams were unable to make any threes, but Hunter was more efficient and used their size to draw fouls. Alexa Charles had yet another run to end the game.
The greatest difference between both teams’ gameplay was that Hunter dominated in all the extra effort areas. More rebounds, more steals, less turnovers and they were even able to capitalize off their own missed shots.
The Hawks defeated the Bearcats 81-53. Hunter’s top performers in this game were Charles, with 29 points, 11 rebounds and eight steals, along with Gianna Henriques, who scored 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Idir secured 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Kostyal-Larrier scored 13 points,five rebounds and five assists.
The big rivalry continued on in the men’s game. The Bearcats wasted no time in scoring, with Leyi Adebayo shooting a three-pointer, putting the Bearcats on the board early in the first period.
After a missed layup, Adebayo scored another three-pointer, making the score 6-0. But the Hawks responded with a lay up from Jeremiah Otasowie, making it their first bucket in the first half. With the shock clock left at eight seconds, Otasowie hit a three-point shot, leaving Bearcats up by one 6-5.
With 16:15 left on the clock, Baruch’s Jack Gordon got heated up, knocking down a three-pointer and applying pressure on defense against the Hawks, forcing a turn-over that led to an Adebayo layup as the Bearcats extended their lead. As the game clock wound down, both teams missed shots and applied good defenses, keeping the score the same until the Hawks center Sloan Ireland scored on a layup in an effort to catch up to the Bearcats’ lead.
Toward the end of the period, Baruch started to slip, allowing Hunter to catch up and tie the game. It didn’t take long for Baruch to be down by two. Baruch guard Brandon Sun made a 3-pointer to regain the lead, but both teams answered each other on both ends of the court. Baruch started losing its momentum, allowing the Hawks to lead going into halftime 37-35.
After halftime, the second period started off with a 3-pointer by Hawks guard JP Maaba. Nicholas Lam gave Baruch possession of the ball after he stole it, and was fouled by Hawks forward Kristian Nunez. Baruch’s foul earned Nunez two free throws, putting Hunter in a 40-37 lead.
After missed shots and defensive pressure from both teams, Otasowie scored a layup at the 15:42 mark, but Baruch responded with a 3-pointer from Gordon. Baruch struggled to keep up during the middle half, allowing Hunter to extend its lead by out-playing the Bearcats and making it appear as though Baruch had slowed down.
However, in the final five minutes, the Bearcats showed signs of life behind key baskets from Trevon Coppin, Gordon and Peter Douvres. The late surge was not enough, as Hunter secured a 68–58 victory, sweeping both games of the Battle of Lex.
Both the Baruch women’s and men’s teams will play their final regular-season games before the playoffs on Feb. 11 at the ARC Arena.
