NEW YORK – Playing for the first time in nearly a month, the City College of New York rallied from a 15-point deficit to take the lead with 6:57 left against CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) rival Baruch on Saturday afternoon.  CCNY made another late push after Baruch regained the lead, but the Bearcats (6-4, 2-0 CUNYAC) held on for an 80-73 victory over the Beavers (0-11, 0-2 CUNYAC) at Nat Holman Gymnasium.

Nearly 100 children from local schools and youth organizations were on hand to watch the Beavers' first game since Dec. 10.  As a part of "Take a Kid to the Game Day," there were a number of kid-friendly contests, and both the CCNY men's and women's teams took part in an autograph session.

The Beavers gave them something to cheer about early on, sinking three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to take a 9-4 lead just 2:36 into the contest.  After Baruch tied it at 11-11, Yassine Sakhi (New York, NY) sank a pair of free throws to put CCNY back in front, 13-11.  However, Adnan Bajrami's trey on the other end sparked a 15-0 Baruch run that gave the Bearcats a 26-13 lead midway through the first half.

CCNY battled back within four at 28-24 on Romello Rashad's (New York, NY) layup with 5:16 remaining until halftime.  Baruch ended the half on an 8-2 spurt, though, to take a 36-26 advantage into the locker room.

After the Bearcats extended their cushion to a game-high 15 points at 45-30 with 16:47 left, Daniel Piszczatowski (Middle Village, NY) hit a layup to begin CCNY's comeback effort.  Isaiah Denard (Staten Island, NY) followed with a long three before layups by Piszczatowski and Sakhi brought the Beavers within six, 45-39, at the 14:24 mark.

Baruch pushed the margin back to 12 points at 55-43, but CCNY responded with a 10-0 run to tie the score.  A Ryan Graziano jumper put the Bearcats back in front, then Rashad was fouled on a layup.  He made the free throw to give CCNY the lead, 58-57.  Rashad sank a trey on the Beavers' next possession, extending the cushion to 61-57 with 6:27 to go.

However, Baruch scored eight of the next 10 points to go ahead, 65-63.  Two Rashad foul shots tied the game again at 65-65 before the Bearcats went on a 10-0 spurt to open up a 75-65 lead with 1:00 left.  The Beavers pulled within five at 75-70, but would get no closer, as Baruch closed out an 80-73 victory.

Rashad posted his first double-double of the season with 24 points and 13 rebounds.  He also tallied four assists and six steals.  Sakhi just missed a double-double of his own, finishing with 24 points and nine boards.  This marked the first time that CCNY had two 20-point scorers in the same game since Ty'Ler Banks (25) and Rashad (24) combined for 49 points against Brooklyn on Feb. 9, 2019.

Denard, meanwhile, notched nine points, five rebounds and three assists.  The Beavers shot 38.1 percent (24-of-63) from the field, 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from three-point range, and 85.7 percent (18-of-21) at the free throw line.

For the Bearcats, Bajrami led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds.  He added four assists.  Allen Villar also had a double-double with 10 points and 17 boards, while Graziano contributed 10 points.  As a team, Baruch shot 41.8 percent (28-of-67) from the floor, 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from downtown, and 60.7 percent (17-of-28) at the charity stripe.

Saturday's game began a span where the Beavers play three times in five days.  CCNY hosts Medgar Evers (3-9, 0-2 CUNYAC) at 7 p.m. on Monday.