Brooklyn, NY --- Senior Jai Kellman scored a game-high 23 points to help lead the #2 seeded Brooklyn College Bulldogs past the #7 seeded John Jay College of Criminal Justice Bloodhounds, 83-68, in the quarterfinals round of the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Men's Basketball Championships, presented by Army ROTC, on Sunday afternoon at the West Quad Center.

With the win , BC improves to 21-5 overall on the year, while remaining perfect at home as the Bulldogs move to 12-0 on their home floor at West Quad. More importantly, Brooklyn now advances to the play in the semifinals round on Wednesday, February 25th at Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of The City College of New York (CCNY). Brooklyn will play the #3 seeded Lehman Colleges Lightning in the second semifinals game of the night at 8:00 pm. Lehman survived its quarterfinals match against #6 Hunter College, 79-77, to move onto the semifinals round.

The Bulldogs and Lightning split their regular season meetings as each team won on their home floor. Brooklyn won 91-72 on December 12th at West Quad, while Lehman won 81-78 on January 28th at the APEX. The rubber match will take place on a neutral court with the winner advancing to the championship final on Friday, February 27th at 8:30 pm, also at Nat Holman Gym.

John Jay ends the season with a 5-21 overall record.

The first half saw three lead changes through the first six and half minutes of the contest. The Bloodhounds would strike first, as John Jay took an early 9-3 lead with 17:33 remaining in the opening half. 2015 CUNYAC Second Team All-Stars Kris Owens and Korede Griffith combined to score all nine points, as Owens hit a pair of three-pointers with Griffith adding another.

The Bulldogs would answer with a 10-3 run over the next three minutes, as junior Egzon Gjonbalaj capped the run hitting a three to give the home team its first lead of the game at 13-12 with 14:32 on the clock.

Following a jumper from Anthony Saldarriaga that put John Jay back ahead, 14-13 (13:39), Brooklyn would once again go on a run, scoring nine straight points to go ahead by eight, 22-14, with 9:50 remaining before the halftime horn. The Bulldogs would never trail in the game again, as Brooklyn would keep the Bloodhounds at bay and take a seven point halftime lead at 38-31.

Kellman scored 12 points in the first half, as the Bulldogs shot 59.3% (16-for-27) from the field, including 50% (4-for-8) from beyond the arc to help build the intermission lead.

Owens was the leading scoring at the break with 14 points, as John Jay went 12-for-31 (38.7%) from the field in the opening half, including going 5-for-11 (45.5%) from three.

Brooklyn would continue to hold onto its lead throughout the second half; however, the Bloodhounds would not go away as the visitors chipped away at their deficit.

Following another three from Owens that cut John Jay's deficit to one, 49-48, with 14:39 remaining in the game, the Bulldogs would regain control of the game and balloon their lead to double figures, 62-52, at the halfway point of the second half.

With 10 minutes remaining in the game, Brooklyn would lead by at least seven the rest of the way and go on to build a 20-point lead, 80-60, with 1:40 left on the clock, before taking home the 15-point win, 83-68, and punch its ticket to the semifinals round.

Junior Lorenzo Williams, a 2015 CUNYAC First Team All-Star, helped carry BC's offense in the second half with 13 points. He would finish the game with 19 points and seven rebounds. Kellman added 11 points in the second stanza to finish with his game-best 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field, including going 5-for-7 from three, en route to being named the Player of the Game.

"It feels good," said Kellman on being named the player of the game. "It's my senior year and I didn't want to leave anything out there. I fed off of my teammates, who gave me the ball in good spots and I was able to knock down shots."

Gjonablaj, also a 2015 CUNYAC First Team All-Star, flirted with a triple-double, finishing the day with a game-best 10 assists, to go with nine points and seven rebounds. Senior Valon Djombalic recorded a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds

For John Jay, Owens finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Saldarriaga added 15 points, six assists and five rebounds. Darell Robinson chipped in with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists.

For the game, Brooklyn shot 55.9% (33-for-59) from the field, including 45% (9-for-20) from three. The Bulldogs struggled from the line going 8-for-18 (44.4%).

John Jay shot 36.6% (26-for-71) from the field, including 30.8% (8-for-26) from three. The Bloodhounds also struggled shooting from the charity stripe, going 8-for-17 (47.1%) from the free throw line.

Admission to the semifinals is free; however, tickets are required for entry. Click here to secure your free tickets.