Men’s basketball dominates quarterfinal against Medgars Evers

Edgar Llivisupa, Sports Editor

The No. 2 Baruch College’s men’s basketball team dominated their CUNY Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal matchup against No. 7 Medgar Evers, winning 94-66 to host a semifinal against No. 3 York.

The victory avenged an upset loss earlier this month on Bearcat Appreciation Night, which was also the first of Baruch’s three straight losses in the regular season.

While the game started close, in less than eight minutes Baruch had a 10 point lead after a fast break layup by Adnan Bajrami. By the end of the first half, the Bearcats were able to widen the lead to 20 points following a layup by Cameron Burns coming off the bench.

The home team didn’t let up after halftime, pushing the lead to over 30 in under five minutes in the second after a jumper by Jehmehl Fair.

After Sean Donnellan was subbed out with 3 minutes 50 seconds left in the second half, the starting lineup was on the bench and done for the game.

Even with their bench on the court, the Bearcats persisted. A 3-pointer by Jack Meyers with 2:33 left in the game increased the lead to 33, the biggest of the night.

Medgars was only able to rally to cut the lead down to 24 points.

There was concern surrounding the men’s basketball team entering the tournament from ending the regular season on a three-game losing streak after being undefeated in conference play and losing the regular season title both first seed to Lehman.

In a statement win, the Bearcats led the entire game. Baruch achieved an offensive turnaround from their upset loss to Medgar Evers where they shot 32% in field goal attempts and 15% from three. By the end of the quarterfinal, Baruch was 49% in field-goal attempts and 39% from the three-point line.

Fair led the Bearcats in scoring with 17 points. Emil Purisic led the team in rebounds and assists with nine and five. Bajrami, Michael Richards, Cameron Burns and Mouhamed Gueye also scored double digits.

Medgars Evers’ highest scorer was Keison McIntosh with 21 points and their highest rebounder was Joshua Jean Pierre with 10.

Baruch will host York in the CUNYAC Tournament semifinal after their win against City College on Feb. 22.

The Bearcats won both matches this season by close margins, 73-70 at the Arc Arena and 80-79 in Jamaica.