The Baruch College Bearcats suffered an overtime loss, 97-95, against the Brooklyn Bulldogs in the Battle of Lexington Thursday night at the ARC Arena.

After a tight first half, the Bearcats opened the second period strong thanks to back-to-back baskets from Allen Villar, with Baruch eventually reaching an 11-point lead. Brooklyn quickly battled back, and tied the game with less than a minute to play.

The visiting Bulldogs drew enough fouls late to take an 81-78 lead with only nine seconds left. Bryler Paigeproved to be the hero of the night by hitting the game-tying 3-pointer with two seconds left to force overtime.

Overtime followed the script of regulation, as the two teams went back-and-forth before Baruch took a 92-91 lead with 48 seconds off of William Sixsmith's timely 3-pointer. However, the Bulldog's Austin Wood put the team ahead for good with a 3-pointer of his own, and the Bearcats were unable to catch Brooklyn in the final seconds.

The Bearcats played very well offensively, but couldn't keep up with Brooklyn's hot shooting. Both teams had at least five players scoring double digits.

Chimaechi Ekekeugborlead the Bearcats in scoring and rebounding with a 23-point, 10-rebound effort.

A total of 19 points were scored each by Dwayne Brydieand Allen Villar. Jack Sixsmithcontributed with 12 assists and three steals, Bryler Paige chipped in 12 points, and William Sixsmithknocked down three 3-pointers to the tune of 13 points.

For Brooklyn, Niv Konfino led all players with 33 points, as well as 10 rebounds and seven assists. Enees Nikovic had 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.