JAMAICA, NY --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com)York College men's basketball battled the Hunter College Hawks (11-14, 8-6 CUNYAC) to the very limit Wednesday evening. After the Hawks controlled the pace for most of the first half, the Cardinals forced overtime after an intense second period, ultimately falling 101-97 in a CUNYAC affair from York College Gymnasium. 

Before the start of the game, York's four-member Men's Basketball Senior Class consisting of Austinson Cooke (2021-), Tyres Desinor (2022-), Micaiah Goosby (2022-), and Olawale Kila (2019-20, 2021-) were recognized for their dedication to York Athletics with the annual Senior Day Ceremony.

How it Happened

• Hunter obtained a 17-9 lead after William Brown's triple at the 13:27 mark of the first half.
• The Hawks stretched their lead to 11 (27-16) when Jack Meyers hit a 3-pointer with 10:07 remaining.
• The point differential remained from 8-12 points until Aidony Nivar's layup for York trimmed the deficit to seven (39-32) with 3:29 showing on the clock.
• Trailing 42-32, the Cardinals closed out the half on a 6-0 run to make the score 42-38.
• A jumper from York's Tafari Jerome leveled the game at 49 with 15:40 left on the clock.
• Leading 56-55, Hunter went on a 9-0 burst to re-establish a double-digit edge (65-55) at the 10:01 mark.
• Olawale Kila's thunderous dunk capped off a 10-2 extended spurt from the Cardinals, cutting the deficit to two (67-65) with just over seven minutes remaining.
• York took its largest lead of the game (76-72) after Tyres Desinor's crafty layup with 4:02 to go.
• Trailing 78-74, Hunter responded on a 8-0 scoring spree to retake an 82-78 lead at the 1:40 mark.
• Desinor's layup and Nivar's two free throws leveled the score at 82 and 84 respectively before Kareem McDonald missed a game-winning jumper at the buzzer.
• Controlling the pace in overtime, a layup from Luka Jakic gave Hunter an eight-point advantage (97-89) with 1:19 remaining. 
• Following two clutch steals, York trimmed the deficit to two (97-95) at 0:30.
• Trailing by three (100-97) and a chance to tie, York's Bryce Haynes missed a three with nine seconds to go, as Hunter went on to win 101-97.

Leading the Cardinals

• Nivar netted a career-high 30 points (11-of-18 FG, 5-of-9 3FG, 3-of-3 FT) and added six rebounds.
•  Desinor scored a season-best 27 points (11-of-21, 3-of-4 FT) to go along with eight rebounds.
• Jerome capped off the night with a season-high 17 points (6-of-14 FG, 2-of-5 3FG, 3-of-4 FT) off the bench and swiped away two steals.
• Rohan Singh turned in an all-around game of 11 points (4-of-7 FG), five assists, and four rebounds.
• Olawale Kila totaled team-bests in rebounds (11) and steals (4). Haynes distributed double-digit dimes (10) for the first time in his career. 

For Hunter

• McDonald stuffed the stat sheet with 26 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds, and three steals.
• Meyers poured in 24 points (10-of-14 FG, 4-of-7 3FG) and hauled in 11 rebounds.
• Corey Jones Jr. dropped an efficient 19 points (5-of-9 FG, 4-of-6 3FG, 5-of-6 FT) and added nine rebounds.
• Jakic tallied 15 points (6-of-11 FG, 3-of-7 FT), six rebounds, and three assists. 

Inside the Box Score
York shot 45.8 percent (38-of-83) from the floor, a scorching 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from downtown, and 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the charity stripe. Hunter shot 49.3 percent (35-of-71) from the field, a blazing 50 percent (10-of-20) from behind the 3-point line, and 61.8 percent (21-of-34) from the free-throw line. 

While the Hawks owned the edge on the glass (45-36), York had the advantage in assists (22-21) and steals (11-7). In transition, the Cardinals outscored Hunter 31-17 in the fastbreak area and 23-9 in points off turnovers. 

Up Next 
The Cardinals (5-19) return to postseason play as the No. 6 seed Saturday (Feb. 17) against the third-seeded Lehman College Lightning (16-9) starting at 2:30 p.m. inside APEX Arena. Tune in with live stats and video by visiting yorkathletics.com/live.

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