Bryler Paige scored 28 points to help send the Baruch College Bearcats to their third CUNYAC Final in five years following a 73-59 home victory over the Bulldogs of Brooklyn College on Wednesday night.
The Bearcats will now await the winner of second semifinal between second-seeded College of Staten Island and third-seeded John Jay College. The two teams were scheduled to play this evening, but difficult weather conditions from today's snowstorm forced the postponement until tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m.
The visiting Bulldogs stormed out of the gate early building a 9-5 lead within the opening six minutes, but the Bearcats recovered quickly behind 15 first half points from Paige to go on a 22-7 run to lead 27-14 with under six minutes remaining in the half.
The Bearcats never took their foot off the gas pedal and entered the half leading, 37-22, which included an 11 point first-half contribution from Andre Harris.
The Bearcat lead would grow to as much as 18 points, 45-27, during the second half, but the Bulldogs took control back and went on a furious 16-4 run to get as close as 49-43 with six minutes left.
The trio of Jade Spencer (5 points), Jordan Wright (5 points) and Anthony McClean (4 points) all had a hand in that run to turn what appeared at one point a playoff blowout into a close contest.
The senior-driven Bearcats took back control with a William Sixsmith 3-point play on a driving layup and his pair of free throws a minute later to climb back up, 54-43.
That was enough to put the Bearcats back into position to play for the ninth time in team history in the CUNYAC Men's Basketball Final.
"It took a full effort from our team," said Head Coach John Alesi. "We had a game plan that we felt really good about going into it. It helps to have seniors. Those guys (seniors) when things weren't going well early they pulled us together."
Tonight's win was also the team's 16th straight at home, dating back to last season. Jack Sixsmith played in his 100th career game as a Bearcat, becoming the 17th player in team history to reach the milestone.
CUNYAC advises that tickets are free for the 8:30 p.m. championship game on Friday night at Hunter College, but all fans must register in advance (first come, first serve) for tickets.
There will be separate tickets for the women's final (5:30 p.m.) and the men's final (8:30 p.m.). Ticket inventory will empty fast, as each championship game is expected to be played in front of a full capacity crowd.
Please register in advance for tickets at www.CUNYAthletics.com/tickets.