The Baruch College Bearcats stretched their winning streak to four games with a 76-75 non-conference win against the Mariners from the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Thursday night in the ARC Arena.

The Bearcats led throughout a majority of the contest and were up at one point 64-50 with 4:30 remaining after a three by Emil Purisic.

The visiting Mariners from the Skyline Conference went on an 11-2 rally to cut the score to 66-61, but Purisic and Cameron Burns each scored layups to build the advantage back up to 70-61.

The final 1:37 proved to be the busiest of the season as the Mariners went on a furious rally connecting on three 3-pointers and a pair of free throws to get as close as 74-72 with just 14 seconds left.

The two teams each made trips to the free throw line to set up a 76-75 score. 

With five seconds remaining, the Bearcats lost possession and that enabled the Mariners to try for the potential winning shot, but Michael Richards stole the ball to seal the win. 

Purisic led the Bearcats tying a career-high with 17 points and recording a career-high with 14 rebounds.

Burns also had a career-high 13 points, all in the second half. Adnan Bajrami finished with 10 points, Sean Donnellan nine and Jehmehl Fair eight.

Isaac Vencel led the visitors with 19 points and Kody Robinson had 15.

The Bearcats will now go on finals exams and holiday break. They will resume action at home on Tuesday, December 28, with a 4:00 p.m. contest against St. Joseph's College of Long Island.