JAMAICA, NY  --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com) York College men's basketball opened the 2020 calendar year Saturday afternoon with a convincing 82-76 win over the Hunter College Hawks (1-10, 1-2) in their CUNYAC home opener on Cardinal Alumni Appreciation Day inside York College Gymnasium. 
 

In a first half that featured 16 lead changes and seven ties, Hunter grabbed a quick 10-5 edge on a George Keener triple 2:25 in.  York answered at the 14:31 mark with a Jaye Bookhart 3-pointer that ignited a 9-0 run for a 20-15 Cardinal edge with 13:05 showing on the first-half clock.  The Cardinals went up by as many as six points in the opening stanza on a Jean Luc-Etienne jumper for a 28-22 lead with 9:57 left. Hunter outscored York by five (22-17) over the final 9:18 to trail 45-44 at the break.  

The Hawks jumped ahead early in the second half with a Keener layup 52 seconds in for a 46-45 lead.  Hunter played ahead and went up by five (54-49) before Donald Hartley, Jr. scored seven-straight points to cap a 13-1 Cardinal spurt, putting York in front for good with a 62-55 lead with 11:14 remaining.  Hartley, Jr. then dialed in from long distance at the 8:40 mark to spark a 10-3 scoring spree to build York's lead to a game-high eight points (72-64) with 4:46 left. Hunter pulled within two with 2:37 remaining on a pair of Keener free-throws before York iced the game with an 8-4 scoring edge in the final 1:54 of play.

Hartley, Jr. went for a career-high 28 points (6-of-12 FG, 4-of-6 3FG, 12-of-15 FT) and swept away five steals (tied career-high) in addition to recording four assists in 38 minutes of action.  Mambe Koureissi combined 19 points (8-of-11 FG) and 13 rebounds to go with three steals (tied career-high) to post his fifth double-double of the season. Bookhart poured in 18 points (8-of-11 FG, 2-of-2 3FG) as Devine Chisholm totaled a career-high 10 assists to run the offense.  Akil Vaughn set a career high with four blocks and added nine rebounds and one steal to his statline.

Keener finished with a game-high 30 points (10-of-16 FG, 8-of-9 FT) for Hunter.  Gio Habbidon and Jonah Bevacqua followed with 17 and 15, respectively.  

York shot a season-high 52.9 percent from the field (27-of-51) and connected on 46.2 percent from 3-point range (6-of-13) and 68.8 percent from the free-throw line (22-of-32) as Hunter landed 47.5 percent from the floor (28-of-59), 19 percent from deep (4-of-21) and 80 percent from the charity stripe (16-of-20).  The Cardinals outrebounded Hunter by 10 (37-27) and scored 13 second-chance points off 12 offensive boards. York also outplayed the Hawks in assists (20-17) and blocks (5-2) while Hunter held the edge in steals (12-10), points in the paint (40-28) and scored 24 points off 22 Cardinal miscues.   

The Cardinals (4-8, 1-2 CUNYAC) continue their six-game homestand Monday (Jan.6) at 7:30 p.m. with a matchup against the College of Staten Island Dolphins (4-8) inside York College Gymnasium.

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