New York, NY---Despite a late second half push, the Brooklyn College men's basketball team wasn't able to get over the hump, falling at Baruch College, 73-59, in the CUNYAC Championship tournament this evening.  Brooklyn moves to 15-12 with the postseason loss while Baruch advances to the conference championship game on Friday with a 21-5 overall record.  The 2018-19 Bulldogs more than doubled their win total from last year and advanced to the semifinal round of the CUNYAC Championships for the first time in three years.  Brooklyn's postseason hopes may still be alive with Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship selections being announced early next week.  

How It Happened

-Trailing by 15 points at halftime and by 20 in the first minute of the second half, the Bulldogs battled back cutting the Bearcat lead to 49-43 after an 8-0 run with 8:17 left in regulation.  Brooklyn junior guard, Jordan Wright knocked down a pair threes during the rally including the long ball that capped the run.  However, the Bearcats responded with a 5-0 run of their own sparked by a three-point play completed by William Sixsmith.  His brother, Jack capped the run with a pair of makes from the charity stripe.  Brooklyn  cut the Baruch lead to as few as eight points with 5:55 to go in regulation before the the Bearcats responded with a back-breaking 9-0 run that kicked their lead back up 17 with 3:32 remaining.  
-Brooklyn opened the contest with a 9-5 lead on three three-point makes before going cold for the majority of the first half.  Baruch answered with an 11-0 run that gave the lead for the remainder of the contest.  
-Baruch shot just under 44% from the field in the first half to the Bulldogs' 25%.  The Bulldogs improved to 36.4% in the second half but the Bearcats stayed slightly consistent shooting 41.7 % in the final twenty minutes.  
-Baruch scored 18 points off of turnovers to the Bulldogs' nine.  

Leading the Bulldogs

-Junior forward, Jade Spencer, led the way with 15 points and 11 rebounds.  
-Guards Wright and Anthony McClean finished with 14 points a piece. 

Leading the Bearcats

-Bryler Paige scored a game-high 28 points while shotting 4-9 from beyond the arc.  
-Andre Harris scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.