The Baruch College Bearcats edged the Dolphins from the College of Staten Island, 61-57, in an exciting CUNYAC home contest played on Friday night in the ARC Arena.

With the victory, the Bearcats take over first place in the conference standings with an 11-2 record (15-6 overall), while the visiting Dolphins drop to second place at 10-2 (15-5 overall).

The Dolphins controlled most of the action in the second half and led 55-49 lead with 3:31 left before Jason Berlinersinglehandedly took over the game.

He connected on a long 3-pointer at 3:13, and then quickly followed up with back-to-back jumpers to help overturn a 55-49 deficit into a 56-55 lead. His jumper for the lead brought the crowd to its feet as the senior scored seven of his nine points in a stunning span of 57 seconds.

The Dolphins would later tie the contest (57-57) with a pair of free throws by Matthew Van Manen with 1:32 left, but Granville Gittensand Rob Goldsteineach connected a pair of free throws in the final minute to help the team secure their seventh straight victory.    

Gittens was the lone player in double-figure scoring this evening with 15 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Berliner, Fuat Yaparand Raymond De La Cruzfinished with nine points each.

Matt Feldmancollected eight points, four steals and three assists.

The Bearcats struggled shooting from the field at 32.8 percent (21-of-64), but finished 13-of-15 from the free throw line. The defense helped force 23 turnovers by the Dolphins.

Jon Chadwick-Myers and Bloochy Magliore led the Dolphins with 13 points.

Baruch will return to action on Monday, February 4, with a 7:30 pm CUNYAC contest at Brooklyn College.