Baruch 78, Brooklyn 60

The Bearcats (21-4), the CUNYAC North Division Champions with a 10-3 mark, had five players in double figures, led by sophomore forward Sime Marnika (Flushing, NY) with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Guards John Alesi (Staten Island, NY) and Joe Longobardi (Staten Island, NY) each had 12 points, while freshman Chris O'Connor (Flushing, NY) and John Burzo (Brooklyn, NY) added 11 points each.

"When we have offensive contributions from five or six guys like this, we're a tough team to beat" said Alesi, who's now got a chance to reach the 1,000 career scoring mark being nine points shy. "Also, Brooklyn is not a deep team, and our team depth wore on them as the game went on."

Eight-seed Brooklyn (8-18), who advanced to the quarterfinals with an 84-68 win over ninth-seeded Medgar Evers two days earlier, were led by freshman guard Jeffrey Jean-Baptiste (Brooklyn, NY) with 17 points and seven steals. Junior Aaron Goldstein (Brooklyn, NY) and freshman Nicolai Edlund (Brooklyn, NY) each scored 13 points, while guard Jason Fulford (Brooklyn, NY), the teams' leading scorer, was held to 12 points in the contest.

"We had great board work in the game," continued Rankis, CUNYAC's Coach of the Year. "Garry [Etienne], Sime and Chris worked hard on the offensive boards." The trio combined for 29 rebounds (14 offensive) as Baruch had a 51-25 advantage over an undersized Brooklyn squad.

Lehman 84, Hunter 75    ●BOX_SCORE
New York, NY - Lehman College advanced to the semifinals of the 38th Annual CUNYAC / Con Edison Basketball Championships with a thrilling 85-74 win over CUNYAC North Division rival Hunter College in the men's quarterfinals in a game that featured ten ties and 17 lead changes. Lehman will make their first semifinal appearance since 1997.

Lehman (15-11) senior guard Edgar Lugo (Bronx, NY) led the game with 26 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Luis Chavez (Queens, NY) had 19 points and seven assists. Chavez, a two-time CUNY all-star drove to the basket with Lehman up by two, 74-72 and converted the free throw after being fouled by Hunter's Donte King. Chavez had six more points down the stretch to ice it for the Lightning.

"Our defense clamped down, and found a level we haven't seen this year," said Lehman head coach Steve Schulman. "We forced their role players into taking key shots down the stretch. It was a high-energy game by both teams." Sophomore forwards Miguel Jorge (Bronx, NY) and Michael Turner added 13 and 10 points respectively.

Junior guard Ricardo Reimers (Queens Village, NY) led Hunter (8-18) with 20 points, while classmate Lincoln Nelson (Washington, DC) had 14 points, including four three-pointers. Junior guard Lorcan Precious (Westport, CT) had a doubledouble with 10 points and 10 assists.

"We lost to Hunter by two points two weeks ago," said Schulman. "We showed the team how many free throws they missed on the tape and used it as motivation. I guess it worked."

Lehman will now play Baruch in the first semifinal on Wednesday, February 26 at Baruch College's ARC Arena at 5:30 pm. The other two semifinalists will be determined later today.

York 68, Staten Island 57    ●BOX_SCORE
New York, NY - One year removed from winning the CUNYAC / Con Edison Basketball Championship, the College of Staten Island, the #3 seed, was defeated by York College, 68-57 in the quarterfinals of the 2003 Tournament.

With the win, York (10-14) now makes the semifinals for the 15th consecutive year under head coach Ron St. John, every season he has been at the helm of the team from Jamaica, NY. "It's been challenging this season,” he said. "We avoided big lapses today. That was the key to the game. We split with them during the season, losing two weeks ago and we didn't want to have those lapses in this game.”

The sixth-seeded Cardinals were led by their two seniors, Jason Daniel (Brooklyn, NY) with 17 points and Marvin Gray (New York, NY) with 17 rebounds and six blocks.

"Our two seniors were exceptional today,” said St. John. "Jason orchestrated it well and Marvin executed the game plan very well. They need to play like that on Wednesday.”

Sophomore forward Michael Thompson (Jamaica, NY) added 12 points and nine boards, while freshman forward Kwesi Liverpool (South Ozone Park, NY) had 12 points as well. Junior guard Roberto Tapia (Queens, NY) had 11 off the bench.

CSI (15-10), winner of a record 11 tournament titles, was eliminated in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1997, and only second time since 1992. Sophomore center John Smith (Bayside, NY) had 14 points and 18 rebounds. CUNYAC Player of the Year Michael Stewart (Brooklyn, NY) was held to 10 points on 4-11 shooting before fouling out of the game.

CCNY 84, City Tech 64    ●BOX_SCORE
New York, NY - The hottest team coming into the tournament with a 9-2 mark over their last 11 games, CCNY, the #2 seed, topped New York City College of Technology, 84-64, to cap off the quarterfinal round of the 38th Annual CUNYAC / Con Edison Basketball Championships at Baruch College.

The Beavers (15-11) made an early 7-0 run 2:30 into the game for an 11-4 lead, one they would never relinquish. Freshman center Robert Barker (Brooklyn, NY) had four points during the run. Battling a pair of collapsed lungs over the past two years, he ended the game with 13 points and seven rebounds.

"Barker has helped us big time, now that he's healthy,” said CCNY senior forward Edwin Caceres, the runner-up for CUNY Player of the Year, who finished with 25 points and seven rebounds. "He started off slowly today, but opened it up and played with confidence in the second half. He's ready to help us make a run at the title.”

"City Tech plays great defense in the middle of the floor, in the transition game,” said third-year head coach Andy Stampfel. "But we were able to handle them in the halfcourt.”

City Tech (6-19), the 10th seed, who beat #7 John Jay 66-61 two days earlier to get into the quarterfinals, were paced by all-star center Shacun Malave (Bronx, NY). The sophomore had 25 points and nine rebounds, finishing a strong season after joining the Yellow Jackets during the holiday break. Junior forward Roger Redhead (Brooklyn, NY) chipped in with 13 points.

Sophomore forward Darryl France (Queens, NY) added 17 points for CCNY, who will play #6 York in the second semifinal on Wednesday, February 26th at Baruch College's ARC Arena preceded by #1 Baruch (21-4) vs. #4 Lehman (15-11) at 5:30 pm.