Men’s Basketball Starts Hot, Goes Cold in Loss vs. Winless John Jay

BY Curtis Ashley Sports writerThe City College Men’s basketball team lost the spark they had the last three games, losing to John Jay College, 60-58. Their win streak was cut to three games on Tuesday night, as the Bloodhounds were able to pull off the upset against this season’s impressive talents at City.John Jay came into this game winless, with a 0-7 overall record, 0-2 in the CUNYAC. The Beavers have had a far better season thus far. They started the night 4-2 overall, 1-1 in the conference, but the records had nothing to do with the performance from either team, as John Jay would prove there was more to them than the numbers show.City jumped out in front early, notching a 10-2 lead with nearly eight minutes off the clock. City continued to lead in the first half, until the Bloodhounds found their rhythm from beyond the three-point line. A barrage of threes led to a tied game at 18 apiece, with just under seven minutes remaining. John Jay held the lead for the remainder of the half, going into the locker rooms up two, 28-26 at the break.“We weren’t executing on offense, we got lackadaisical on defense,” Head Coach Tom Green said.At the half, Darius Rhodes led the team in the scoring and rebounding category with six points and five boards. The team as a whole only shot .294, which was better than that of John Jay who only had a .258 shooting average for the first half. But for John Jay, the shots they were making were from outside. They went 6-for-13 in the first half alone from downtown.The second half was, for the most part, a game of catch-up for the Beavers. After losing the lead in the first half, City would not get the lead back until they went up 50-49 with just over five minutes left in the game. The game would be tied four times, but in the end, it came down to a missed desperation shot by David Solano with only a couple seconds left on the clock. John Jay would pull off the upset, and be winless no more.“You know at some point they’re gonna turn a corner,” Green mentioned. “Unfortunately they turned a corner against us.”“Even if I hit that game-winning shot, it still would’ve been a crappy win,” Solano had to say. “Honestly, it was an overall bad game.”With the loss, City drops to 4-3 overall, 1-2 in the CUNYAC. On a night where many of the basketball teams around the conference also played, City finds themselves in the middle of the pack, sitting at fifth in the conference. They’ll have the opportunity to change that Friday night, when they face another winless team, the Hawks of Hunter College. After tonight’s performance, the Beavers are going to do all they can to make sure they don’t give another team their first win of the season.“My attitude is gonna be that we’re gonna come to work,” Green said of the upcoming team practices. “It’s gonna very strict, very strenuous. It’s gonna be all business.”CCNY looks to regain their momentum this Friday in the Nat Holman Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.