NEW YORK – Seniors Isaiah Denard (Staten Island, NY) and Romello Rashad (New York, NY) were honored prior to the City College of New York men's basketball team's home finale on Saturday night.  The duo combined for 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in their final contest at Nat Holman Gymnasium, but it was not enough for the Beavers (3-21, 2-11 CUNY Athletic Conference), who fell to Hunter (10-14, 8-5 CUNYAC) by a 76-71 count.

Denard had 12 points in the first half and finished with 16 to go along with six assists and two steals.  Rashad, meanwhile, registered 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.  Yassine Sakhi (New York, NY) finished with a game-high 22 points, while Oludamilola Arogundade (Bronx, NY) contributed 11 points off the bench.  As a team, the Beavers shot 47.5 percent (28-of-59) from the field, 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from long range, and 90.9 percent (10-of-11) at the charity stripe.

Both teams started off hot offensively.  CCNY made its first four shots and Hunter drained its first three, as the Beavers held an 8-7 advantage after just 2:34.

Hunter went on a 9-2 run to go up 16-10 midway through the first half before a Denard layup sparked an 8-2 CCNY spurt that tied the score at 18-18.  The Hawks again responded, regaining a four-point edge at 24-20 with 3:43 left in the half.  Rashad sank a trey to break a 26-26 deadlock and put the Beavers back in front with 1:00 remaining until halftime.  Hunter's Danny Fusco hit a three just before the buzzer, however, to even the score at 29-29 after the first 20 minutes.

CCNY again came out hot in the second half.  Back-to-back Sakhi buckets followed by a Rashad three-pointer gave the Beavers a 36-29 advantage just 90 seconds into the period.  An Arogundade free throw increased the margin to eight points, 41-33, at the 15:47 mark, but the Hawks responded with a 23-10 spurt to go ahead 56-51.

After the Beavers pulled within one at 61-60 on Sakhi's three-pointer with 6:12 left, Hunter scored 12 of the next 17 points to push the margin back to eight points, 73-65, with 23 seconds remaining.  Sakhi sank a pair of quick treys to pull CCNY within three, 74-71, at the eight-second mark.  George Keener drained two free throws on the other end, though, to close out the Hawks' 76-71 victory.

Four Hunter players scored in double-figures, led by Keener's 19-point, 10-rebound double-double.  Judah McIntyre also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists.  Fusco tallied 12 points, while Barrett Lowe ended up with 11 points.  Jonah Bevacqua added eight points, six boards and four blocks for the Hawks, who shot a combined 55.1 percent (27-of-49) from the floor.  Hunter was 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) from downtown, and 16-for-23 (69.6 percent) at the free throw line.

The Beavers conclude their 2019-20 campaign with a 7:30 p.m. visit to Lehman (14-10, 8-5 CUNYAC) on Tuesday night.  The Lightning earned a 74-51 victory over CCNY when the sides met at Nat Holman Gymnasium on Jan. 22.