Baruch 79, Lehman 75

"Danny is probably our mentally toughest player," said 20th year Baruch head coach Ray Rankis. "I am not surprised by his play at the end of the game as he was able hit those key free-throws."

A back-and-forth matchup, had the Bearcats (22-4) leading by a slim margin of 74-73 with 1:13 left in the game. Baruch closed out the encounter with a 5-2 run in the final sixty seconds for the victory and their first berth to the CUNYAC Championship final since 2000.

Senior John Alesi (Staten Island, NY), who is the only member of the 2000 CUNYAC Championship squad, led six Bearcats in double-figures as he finished the night with 18 points and also reached the Baruch's 1,000 point-plateau.

Junior Joe Longobardi (Staten Island, NY) scored 15 points, while Guilford and junior Gary Etienne (Jamaica, NY) each added 12 points each. Etienne, a 6'6" center also led the game with 12 rebounds.

Rounding out the Bearcats double-digit scoring were sophomores John Burzo (Brooklyn, NY) and Sime Marnika (Flushing, NY) with 10 points apiece.

The Lightning (15-12) were paced by junior Edgar Lugo (Bronx, NY) with 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. Sophomore Miguel Jorge (Bronx, NY) was second on the squad in scoring with 21 points, while teammate Luis Chavez (Queens, NY) was third with 18. Both Lugo and Chavez led Lehman on the boards with eight.

"This was one of the best games I have seen in CUNY ever," said Rankis. "They matched our intensity every time down the court and we couldn't pull away."

CCNY 79, York 68    ●BOX_SCORE
New York, NY - Second-seeded City College used a 10-0 run late in the second half to pull away from sixth seeded York College and earn a 79-68 win in the nightcap of the 38th Annual CUNYAC / Con Edison Basketball Championships men's semifinals.

The win puts the Beavers (16-11) in the 2003 CUNYAC Finals and will meet host the Baruch College for the crown. This will be the first time in CUNYAC tournament history that the two teams meet for the title. The Beavers also boast their first winning season since 1985.

"Baruch is the only team that defends like us," said head coach CCNY Andy Stampfel, who guided the Beavers to the 2001 CUNYAC title in his first season. "It is going to be a challenge for us mentally to protect the ball and rebound like we will need to in order to be successful."

With the score leveled at 55-55 with 8:56 remaining, City College would score ten straight points to take a 65-55 lead at 5:55 mark and pull away from York (10-15) for the 79-68 final.

Sophomore Darryl France (Queens, NY) led the Beavers' offense with 19 points, senior Dana Warner (New York, NY) had 18 points, while sophomore Avain Gourdine (New York, NY) scored 12, while senior Edwin Caceres (Queens, NY) added 11 and had a game-high 15 rebounds for CCNY.

"Tonight, Darryl stepped up and had a great game," said Stampfel "He knows most nights that it Eddie and Dana do most of the scoring, but he played aggressively on offense and came through."

York was led by senior Jason Daniel (Brooklyn, NY) and sophomore Michael Thompson (Jamaica, NY) as each tallied 13 points, while junior Roberto Tapia (Queens, NY) had 12 points in the loss.