The men's basketball team overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to record an impressive 79-69 home win against the second place Cardinals of York College on Wednesday night in the ARC Arena.

The visiting Cardinals (12-7, 7-3 CUNYAC) started the game by controlling play and led by as much as 15 points (34-19) with 4:46 left before the halftime whistle. They shot 47.1 percent (16-for-34) in that opening half with 11 points from Omar St. John.

They continued to lead by double-digits (43-33) with 17:42 left, but the Bearcats (11-9, 7-4 CUNYAC) slowly chipped away at the deficit until a 3-pointer by Matt Feldman put them ahead for the first time at 52-51.

The two teams were tied at 54, but 3-pointers by Ryan Markoe and Feldman, along with a running jumper by Edward Roscigno, put them up, 62-55, with 9:18 remaining.

The Cardinals later cut the advantage to one point (69-68) on a pair of free throws by John with 2:45 left.

The Bearcats responded over the final 2:45 with a 10-1 run, hitting 8-of-8 from the free throw line and getting a key basket on a running layup by Matas Rascius, to seal the quality home win.

Granville Gittens scored 17 of his 30 points (11-16 fg, 8-10 ft) during the second half for a double-double with 14 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Feldman finished with 14 points and three assists. Raymond De La Cruz had 12 points and Rascius totaled 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

The Bearcats finished shooting 51 percent (25-for-49), which included 14-of-21 from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range during the second half.

York struggled in the second half shooting 28.6 percent (8-for-28), which included 0-of-6 from 3-point range.

St. John led the visitors with 21 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Michael Woods, one of the top scorers in NCAA Division III with 29 points per game, was held to 14 points.

The men's basketball team will continue a difficult stretch of their conference schedule with a road trip on Friday night at first place College of Staten Island with tip-off set for 7:30 pm.