New York, NY---A back and forth battle to the final buzzer, the Brooklyn College men's basketball team ended the 2016-17 season this evening, falling at Hunter College, 71-65, in the First Round of the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Championships.  The No. 7 seeded Bulldogs close out the season with a 6-20 overall record.  The No. 6 seeded Hawks advance to the Quarterfinal Round at Lehman on Sunday.  

With the score tied 62-62 with 2:40 remaining in the contest, Hunter went on a 9-0 run ending with :04 left in the game to close out the postseason contest.  An Enees Nikovic lay-in with 3:05 left in the game gave the Bulldogs a 62-60 edge before the Hawks' game-winning run.  

Trailing 60-57 with just under five minutes to play, senior guard Valdon Baptiste tied the game with an old-fashioned three point play with 4:34 remaining in the contest.  

After trailing by as many as eight points in the opening 5:45 of the game, the Bulldogs took their first lead of the game on a Niv Konfino layup with just over nine minutes to play in the first half.  Senior guard Chris McIllhatton extended the BC lead to their largest of the evening with a three-point make after a stop on the ensuing possession.  The Hawks responded with an 8-0 run to retake the lead, 31-27, with 5:22 remaining in the first half.  Hunter head into halftime with a 37-35 advantage.  

Hunter shot 42.9% from beyond the arc to Brooklyn's 27.8% from three-point range.  BC struggled with the long-ball especially in the second half, shooting 1-10 from behind the three-point line.  

Brooklyn was led by junior guard Maynard Grant IV's game-high 20 points.  Senior center Enees Nikovic finished the game with his 14th double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds.  Senior guard Chris McIllhatton and junior guard Niv Konfino each netted nine points.