The City College of New York (CCNY) men’s basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Men’s Basketball Championship after defeating Baruch College 72–70 at ARC Arena. The game took place on Saturday afternoon in New York.
CCNY faced an 11-point deficit in the first half and trailed 44–33 at halftime. However, a strong defensive effort in the second half helped them limit Baruch to only 26 points after the break. Baruch was held scoreless from three-point range in the second half, missing all nine attempts.
Senior Michael Bowman led CCNY with 19 points, including three three-pointers and crucial free throws late in the game. Sophomore Chris Popotte contributed 16 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Freshman Olabanjo Aborisade and senior Camryn Reyes each added 12 points; Reyes also had nine rebounds. Junior Carcamo scored 11 points and recorded eight assists.
The Beavers overcame an early second-half deficit with a key run midway through the period. The contest included five lead changes before CCNY secured victory by defending strongly in the final minutes and converting free throws.
Baruch’s Jack Gordon scored a game-high 24 points, while Leyi Adebayo finished with a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds. Despite shooting over 55 percent from the field in the first half, Baruch struggled against CCNY’s defense after halftime.
With this win, CCNY moves on to face No. 2-seeded Brooklyn College on Tuesday, February 24, at 7:15 pm in the conference semifinals.
