‘Battle of Lexington’ headlines week of Bearcats basketball
December 11, 2022
As the semester winds down, so do the number of games the Baruch College Bearcats play. But, this week, the men’s and women’s basketball teams challenged the Hunter College Hawks in this year’s “Battle of Lexington.”
Men’s basketball
The men’s team won its first CUNY Athletic Conference matchup of the year on Dec. 2, and it couldn’t have been against a better opponent.
The game between Baruch and Hunter, known as the Battle of Lexington, is an annual event that always draws large crowds due to the competitive nature of the rivalry. Both the men’s and women’s teams competed in the doubleheader.
The name originates from each school’s location on opposite ends of Lexington Avenue, with Baruch between 23rd and 25th Street and Hunter between 67th and 68th Street. The name also puts a spin on the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first two battles in the American Revolution.
This year’s event took place at Hunter College, but the Bearcats men’s team was unphased, putting on a show in a comfortable 107-96 victory.
Baruch jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first half, and the Hawks simply couldn’t mount a comeback.
The Nicholson brothers, Devin and Gerard, led the Bearcats in scoring with 21 points and 19 points, respectively. Gerard was just one assist shy of posting a triple-double, as he tallied 15 rebounds and nine assists to go along with his 19 points.
Six Bearcats, including the Nicholson brothers, reached double figures in scoring. Sayeed Osorio scored 17, Mohamed Gueye and Jehmehl Fair scored 13 and Emil Purisic scored 12.
The men will look to carry their momentum into winter break and the spring semester.
Women’s basketball
The women’s team was unable to pull out the win in their hard-fought battle against Hunter, losing to the Hawks 79-70 in overtime.
The Bearcats started slow, trailing the Hawks by six at halftime. The team, however, clawed back into the game, outscoring Hunter by 16 in the third quarter. Unfortunately, the Hawks forced overtime by mounting a run in the fourth and ultimately used that momentum to capture the win.
Despite the loss, reigning CUNYAC Rookie of the Year Mia Castillo put on a show, recording her second career triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. D’Andre McRae chipped in with a double-double, recording 16 points and 21 rebounds.
The women will look to get back in the win column during winter break and the spring semester.
