The Baruch College Bearcats defeated Lehman College, 70-57, in a CUNYAC Semifinal contest on Tuesday night in the ARC Arena.

The Bearcats trailed early against Lehman,17-9, but behind 18 first-half points from Michael Richards came back to not only take the lead but also jump ahead 33-22.

Lehman ended the first half by scoring the final five points, which included a half-court buzzer-beater, to cut the score to 33-27 into the break.

The Bearcats kept up their momentum in the second half, this time led by George Smyth, Jr., who scored 19 of his 25 points in the final 20 minutes. His layup with 12:09 left built up a 53-41 lead.

Lehman did get as close as five points twice, including 62-57 after a pair of free throws by Basheeru Camara with 2:18 remaining, but the Bearcats slammed the door on the victory by scoring the final eight points to clinch the 70-57 final.

Gian Batista scored 13 of his 23 points in the second half for the visitors, but their team's lackluster shooting at 36 percent (11-for-31) in the second half helped the Bearcats.

Despite losing 70 percent of their offense from last season, the Bearcats will return for the second straight year to play in the CUNYAC Final against Brooklyn College.

The winner of Friday's contest will earn the coveted berth to play in the NCAA Tournament.