NEW YORK – The City College of New York men's basketball team (0-14, 0-5 CUNY Athletic Conference) dropped an 85-58 decision to host Hunter (3-12, 3-3 CUNYAC) at the Hunter Sportsplex on Wednesday night.
Yassine Sakhi (New York, NY) had a double-double for the Beavers with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
CCNY scored the first bucket of the game on a Sakhi layup, and a
Romello Rashad (New York, NY) jumper gave the Beavers a 7-6 lead with 14:00 left in the first half. After Hunter scored the next five points to go up 11-7, Sakhi hit a pair of foul shots and Rashad sank a layup to tie it at 11-11 midway through the opening period.
A Sakhi three-pointer put CCNY in front 15-14 with 8:29 remaining until halftime, but the Hawks responded with an 8-0 run to take a 22-15 lead. Hunter extended its advantage to 34-24 at the break, then gradually built on that cushion throughout the second half. The final margin was 27 points, 85-58, as the Hawks earned their second straight win over the Beavers.
Sakhi's double-double was his fourth of the season. He also recorded two blocks and two steals. Rashad
added 19 points and seven rebounds to go along with three assists and three steals.
Athanasios Kamberis (New Hyde Park, NY) sank three treys for nine points, while
Amr Almaz (Brooklyn, NY) was credited with a pair of blocks. As a team, CCNY shot 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the field, 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from downtown, and 81.3 percent (13-of-16) at the free throw line.
Melvin Collins led four Hawks in double-figures with 17 points. George Keener finished with 16 points and six rebounds, while Danny Fusco contributed 11 points and eight assists. Gio Gabbidon added 11 points for Hunter, which shot 53.3 percent (32-of-60) from the floor. The Hawks went 11-for-24 (45.8 percent) from three-point land and 10-for-11 (90.9 percent) at the charity stripe.
On Friday night, the Beavers return home for a matchup with Brooklyn (6-8, 3-1 CUNYAC). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Nat Holman Gymnasium.