Brooklyn, NY --- The Brooklyn College Men's Basketball team suffered a 69-61 loss against the Bearcats of Baruch College in City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) action on Tuesday night at the West Quad Center.

With loss, Brooklyn drops to 3-8 overall on the season and 1-4 in the CUNYAC; while Baruch snaps its four-game losing streak to improve to 7-6 overall on the year and 4-2 in conference play.

The first half featured a tight contest with seven ties and six lead changes. Following a jumper from sophomore Jamel Gist that gave the home team a four-point lead, 29-25, with 2:31 left before the intermission break, the Bearcats would close out the half on a 9-0 run to take a five-point halftime lead, 34-29. Baruch shot 43.3% (13-30) from the field and 88.9% (8-9) from the free throw line in the period. Brooklyn shot 40% (12-30) from the field, including 37.5% (3-8) from beyond the arc and 50% (2-4) from the line.

The Bulldogs would play from behind the entire second half and eventually cut its deficit down to one, 39-38, on a bucket from sophomore Nicholas Grasso with just 14:33 left in the game; however, that's as close as Brooklyn would get, as Baruch would eventually balloon its lead to double figures, leading by as many as 14 on two occasions.

The home team would not go down lightly, climbing back into the game and eventually getting to within four, 63-59, with 35 seconds left. Baruch however would close out the game hitting key free throws in the final seconds to earn a 69-61 hard fought win.

Junior Jai Kellman dropped a team-high 16 points for Brooklyn coming off the bench, while classmate Valon Djombalic and sophomore Egzon Gjonbalaj each finished with 12 points. Djombalic also grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds, to go along with four assists, four blocks and two steals, recording his second straight double-double and third overall of the season. Gist concluded his night with 11 points.

For Baruch, Granville Gittens led all scorers with 22 points, to go along with seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Joshua Vital (14 points and seven rebounds) and Matt Feldman (12 points) made key contributions coming off the bench. Raymond De La Cruz chipped in with seven points and nine rebounds, while Edward Roscigno dished out five assists.

For the game, Brooklyn shot 36.1% (22-61) from the field and just 17.6% (3-17) from three. The Bulldogs also struggled from the line converting 53.8% (14-26).

Baruch shot 37.9% (22-58) from the field and also struggled from beyond the arc going 2-for-13 (15.4%). Free throws played a key part to the Bearcats victory, as the visitors shot 79.3% (23-29) from the charity stripe.

Brooklyn will return to the hardwood this Friday, January 10th, as the Bulldogs will travel to John Jay College of Criminal Justice for another CUNYAC tilt. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.