York College’s Marcel Esonwune sinks a basket to score early in the CUNYAC Championship game.                               Photos Verity Rollins

The top-seed York College men’s basketball team saw their two-year reign as CUNYAC champs come to an end as they were upset by sixth-seeded John Jay College, 68-54, in the CUNYAC Championship game on Friday evening, February 22. Despite the loss, Marcel Esonwune and Chris Roberts were named to the all-tournament team.

Both teams played at a high pace in the early going. John Jay (13-15) got out to a quick 5-2 lead after a three-pointer by Vaughn Mason at the 19:23 mark. York (20-8) took its first lead of the game shortly after on a lay-up by Esonwune. Esonwune was dominant in the early going, shooting 5-5 from the field and netting 10 points just six minutes into the game. However, two quick fouls forced him out of the action. A few minutes later, Chris Roberts also picked up his second foul, forcing the Cardinals to go deep into their bench.

Despite the foul trouble, York looked still to be in control when Michael Smith connected on a three-pointer from the corner to give the Cardinals a 24-20 lead. However, the foul trouble caught up with York as John Jay opened up a 12-0 run to take a 32-24 advantage with 6:25 to play. John Jay’s Chris Jaeger had four points during the run to lead the Bloodhounds.
Michael Salamanca got York back on track, however, with a three-pointer and two free throws to cut the margin to three points with 4:17 to play in the half. Both teams played tight the rest of the half and the Bloodhounds took a 39-35 lead into the locker room.

In the second half, York looked to be gaining momentum as they battled back to take the lead, 43-42, on a dunk by Esonwune at the 15:00 mark. However, that would turn out to be the last lead of the game for the Cardinals. Four minutes later, with the score tied at 47-47, the Bloodhounds scored five unanswered points on a three-point play by Diaa Kassed and a lay-up by Matt Basgamy on consecutive possessions. The Cardinals never recovered and John Jay slowly began to pull away over the final 10 minutes. The win gave John Jay its first ever CUNYAC championship and denied the Cardinals their third straight.
“It was unfortunate for us,” York Head Coach Ronald St. John said. “We were looking to do this for a third time. John Jay came with everything they got and we didn’t play our game tonight.”

“It’s tough,” added Salamanca. “After winning the last two years, it’s tough to be on the other side.”

Esonwune finished with a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds for York, while Omari Phipps netted 11 points and grabbed seven boards. Vaughn Mason led the Bloodhounds with 14 points, while Kassed netted 13 points. In addition, Kassed was named tournament MVP and Mason was selected to play on the all-tournament team.

York likely missed out on a chance for an NCAA Tournament berth, and will wait to see if the Cardinals receive a berth in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament.