The last time Baruch and Brooklyn met in the CUNYAC/Army ROTC Championship game was 2009, which Brooklyn won 89-69. Head coach John Alesi wasn't with the program that year, but he can now etch his name in Baruch coaching lore after his Bearcats defeated the Brooklyn Bulldogs 90-83 in a double-overtime thriller at the 2014-15 Finals.
"It's a little surreal to be honest with you," said third year Baruch coach John Alesi.
Both teams traded threes to start the game, with Baruch's Raymond De La Cruz, Brooklyn's Jai Kellman and Baruch's Ryan Markoe converting from long-range. De La Cruz had the hot hand early, scoring eight of his team's first 13 points. Despite the junior's efforts, neither team was able to pull away early.
Brooklyn took their first lead of the game when Steven Diaz drilled a three pointer, putting the Bulldogs up 16-13. Both teams continued their back and forth affair, with Chimaechi Ekekeugbor knocking down two short-range jump shots in a 32 second span to put the Bearcats up 21-20.
With the game tied 24-24 and less than five seconds remaining, Brooklyn's Kellman drove quickly and used a creative spin move to get a look at the basket. He converted a difficult layup to put his team up 26-24 going into the half.
Brooklyn dominated in the paint in the first half, scoring 12 points to Baruch's four and grabbing 20 rebounds compared to Baruch's 14. Eight Bulldogs scored in the half, with nobody exceeding five points. De La Cruz, who is eighth on Baruch's all-time three point shooting list, led the Bearcats with eight points.
Valon Djombalic opened the second half scoring for Brooklyn. Kellman hit a three pointer 54 seconds later to give the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the game at that point at five. The senior guard soon hit another three pointer, this time from four feet beyond the arc, to put the Bulldogs up 36-30. Momentum was clearly starting to tilt in Brooklyn's favor. Jamel Gist and Lorenzo Williams scored on successive layups to open up a game-high eight point lead with 13:51 remaining.
The Bearcats were not ready to give in to the Bulldogs, however. Ryan Markoe and Bryler Paige hit consecutive three pointers to pull back within two. From that point, Baruch went on a 15-7 run that saw them overcome the deficit, capped by a pair of converted free throws by McMahon.
With the game tied at 47 apiece, Markoe had an electrifying block on Enees Nikovic's layup attempt. Nikovic ended up scoring on the ensuing possession. With the crowd on edge with every field goal made, De La Cruz of Baruch and Harry Hazan of Brooklyn traded baskets from beyond the arc.
After the 6:22 mark, Brooklyn went on a 5-0 run behind field goals from Gist, Egzon Gjonbalaj and Williams. Brooklyn appeared to be pulling away with time becoming a detriment to Baruch's chances, but Granville Gittens hit a key three pointer at 2:21 to cut the deficit to four. Baruch's Chimaechi Ekekeugbor drew consecutive fouls and converted three of four free throws in a 14 second span to get the Bearcats within one at 61-60.
Down the stretch the teams were going shot for shot. Lorenzo Williams hit a shot and was matched by Granville Gittens' baseline score. Williams hit another field goal, and De La Cruz had a chance to match but couldn't put back the easy layup. With 52.8 seconds remaining, Brooklyn maintained a 65-62 lead. The finish was sure to be exciting and frantic.
Ryan Markoe was able to knock down two free throw attempts to get the game to 65-64. On the next Brooklyn possession, Granville Gittens had a potentially game-changing block with 30 seconds left on the block, and Baruch got the ball back. With 14.2 left, Baruch controlled the ball and the shot clock was off. However, their inbound attempt resulted in an errant free throw and they were forced to foul Egzon Gjonbalaj. He knocked down the first of two but missed the second. Baruch carried the ball up the court and called time out with 6.6 left on the clock down 66-64.
In the semifinals and the same amount of time on the clock, coach John Alesi called a play that led to Granville Gittens hitting the game winning shot. Tonight, Alesi put his faith in his best player once again.
After receiving the inbound from Markoe, Gittens lost his handle on the ball and it flew up high in the air. He somehow corralled the loose ball and got off an improbable fade away shot. It miraculously fell as the buzzer sounded, tying the game at 66-66 and sending the game to the first overtime in CUNYAC Championship Game history.
The first minute of the extra period saw each team go scoreless. Lorenzo Williams opened the overtime scoring at the 3:21 mark with a three point shot. Bryler Paige of Baruch answered with a long ball of his own to tie the game at 69-69. Djombalic got fouled while making a field goal and completed the three point play, but Markoe immediately answered with his fourth three of the game.
Jai Kellman buried two free throws with 56 seconds remaining, and Brian McMahon matched him with a layup to tie the game back up. Everytime Brooklyn pulled ahead, Baruch was there to match them. Brooklyn couldn't convert in the waning seconds of overtime, and Baruch was left with 1.2 seconds on the clock, facing double-overtime. A deep inbound pass left Baruch with the ball in their end with 0.5 remaining. Somehow, Raymond De La Cruz had a wide open three point attempt but couldn't put it down. The game was headed to double overtime.
In similar fashion, the first minute saw no scoring. Brooklyn's Valon Djombalic hit two free throws, and a diving steal by Edward Roscigno led to an assist on Granville Gittens' field goal to tie the game at 76-76. Djombalic scored on the next possession and was fouled in the process, but he couldn't sink the free throw.
The teams swapped free throws and field goals with nobody being able to open up a lead greater than two points. Baruch was trailing 83-82 when De La Cruz subbed back in. The move immediately paid dividends as the senior scored to give the Bearcats an 84-83 lead. One play later, Brooklyn suffered a huge blow when leading scorer Lorenzo Williams fouled out. He finished the game with 23 points and 11 rebounds, which included numerous big shots down the stretch.
Ryan Markoe drained the ensuing free throws, giving Baruch a 86-83 lead with 39.1 seconds left in the contest. With the Bulldogs' biggest threat on the bench, they were unable to tie the game on the next possession and were forced to foul Gittens with 20.4 seconds remaining. He sank both, and Markoe sank two more to open up a 90-83 lead that Brooklyn could not overcome.
Markoe finished the game with a team-high 23 points, which included 4-of-7 shooting from the perimeter and a perfect 9-for-9 at the free-throw line. Gittens finished the game with 19 points after scoring 21 in the quarterfinals and 19 in the semifinals. With two of the biggest shots in Tournament history, there was no question he was the MVP of the Tournament.
Baruch's victory is only their second title in CUNYAC Championship history, with the first coming back in 2000. Coach Alesi was part of that team as a player.
The historic win earns Baruch a guaranteed position in the NCAA Tournament.