GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Tied 61-61 with 5:51 to go, Baruch College used a 10-1 run to gain separation and held off the New Jersey City University men's basketball team, 81-77, in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Tournament Quarterfinals  on March 6 at Gwynedd Mercy University. In a game that was tied 15 times with 13 lead changes, NJCU's 87th season comes to a close with a record of 14-14.
 
In the final games of their collegiate careers, senior power forward Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown) and senior small forward Jaimik Moore (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack) each had double-doubles on their stat sheets with 10 minutes remaining in the game but NJCU could not find an answer defensively for Baruch junior forward Ryan Graziano (Commack, N.Y.) who scored a game-high 31 points shooting 9-of-15 overall and 8-of-14 from three-point range.
 
Baruch (19-10), the No. 4 seed in the four-team section of the tournament, advanced to the ECAC Semifinals to face host Gwynedd Mercy (21-7). It was Baruch's first win over NJCU ever in seven meetings.
 
With the loss, the storied career of Toney, the two-time All-American and two-time NJAC Player of the Year, comes to an end with 1,779 points—fourth in school history—817 rebounds, and a program-record 233 three-pointers. He had 14 points (6-6 FT) and 10 rebounds in 32 minutes in his career finale.
 

Moore added 15 points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes before fouling out and junior shooting guard Denzel Banks (Newark, NJ/East Orange Campus) finished with 15 points (7-16 FG) and four assists. Senior shooting guard Jeff Haddock, Jr. came off the bench to drill 3-of-3 three-point shots and score 10 points in seven minutes in his final game (695 career points). Junior point guard Tarique Holmes (Jersey City, NJ/Bayonne) had eight points (4-8 FG) and four assists.
 
Graziano added six rebounds in 37 minutes for the Bearcats while junior shooting guard Adnan Bajrami (Houston, Texas) added 17 points and six boards. Freshman forward Emil Purisic (Queens, N.Y.) scored 11 (5-10 FG) with eight caroms.
 
Baruch shot 10-of-22 from three-point range in the game and 29-of-59 from the field and got out to a huge lead late in the first half when it claimed an 11-point, 34-23 lead with 5:49 to go in the opening period. Baruch shot 58.3 percent from three-point distance in the opening half (7-12) and 50 percent overall.
 
Despite lackluster shooting from the third-seeded Knights in the opening half (15-39, 38.5 percent) and for the game (28-79, 35.4 percent), NJCU had a 20-8 advantage on the offensive glass and scored 15 second chance points.
 
The Knights, down 11, battled back and finished the first half on a massive 13-2 run to tie the game at 36-36 at the break. Banks and sophomore guard Kayton Darley (West New York, NJ/North Bergen) each scored twice during the run which included an important three by Toney that tied the game at 34-34.
 
In a true see-saw second half, neither side led by more than one possession until the late run by Baruch and the clubs traded nine ties, the final at 61-61 on a fast-break bucket by Holmes with 5:51 remaining.
 

But with 4:46 left Baruch broke the tie for good with a jumper by sophomore guard Jack Reese (East Hampton, N.Y.) and Bajrami (3:31) and Purisic sank jumpers to push the lead to six (67-61). Bajrami scored inside with 2:27 left and Reese converted a pair from the line with 2:03 remaining to expand the cushion to nine (71-62). 
 
Down 75-66 with under a minute remaining, NJCU was able to whittle the deficit to four as Haddock came off the bench and drilled back-to-back-to-back triples and a foul shot in a span of 26 seconds—the final one with 12 seconds remaining—but NJCU never got another chance to shoot.  
 
NOTABLES:

• Series: Seventh meeting. NJCU leads all-time series, 6-1, including 2-1 in the postseason.
• 87th postseason game NJCU has played in its history—46th ECAC Tournament game along with 41 NCAA Tournament contests; NJCU's 43rd postseason appearance all-time as an NCAA Division III program.
• Between 21 ECAC and 21 NCAA Tournaments, it owns an all-time postseason ledger of 48-39 (.552). 
• The Knights own an all-time 31-15 (.674) record in 46 ECAC tournament games. 
• Sam Toney (Plainfield, NJ/Williamstown) produced his 27th career double-double and fourth of the season. He scored in double figures for the 90th time in 112 career games.
• Jaimik Moore (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack) had his fourth double-double of the season and scored in double figures for the 17th time in 22 games. 
• Denzel Banks (Newark, NJ/East Orange Campus) scored in double figures for the 20th time this season and for the 34th time in 56 career games. He will enter his senior season with 737 points—263 points shy of 1000. 
• Jeff Haddock, Jr. scored in double figures for the third time this season and the 13th time in two and a half seasons as a Gothic Knight.

 
UP NEXT:
The 2020-21 schedule will be announced in Summer, 2020.
 
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