JOHN JAY COLLEGE–After being defeated by Lehman College on Feb. 25 at the Doghouse, the John Jay Bloodhounds believed their season was over. Now, on March 7, they are heading to the NCAA Tournament after defeating #1 seeded Baruch College at ARC Arena to capture the program’s second CUNYAC championship and its first since 2008.
“Accidents happen on purpose,” Bloodhound’s Championship MVP junior Jamir ‘Shifty’ Stewart stated after the game. “I told my teammates (after the news) that it’s up. Like let’s go get after it, let’s get in the gym and work. I owe it all to them.”
The conference all-star Stewart led the way for John Jay, scoring 23 points in the game.
John Jay was not originally supposed to be playing in the championship game on February 28. In order to play at the collegiate level, a student athlete must be enrolled in at least 12 credits and maintain a 2.0 GPA. CUNY released a statement on Wednesday evening stating that a Lehman athlete that played in the semifinal game against John Jay was not eligible after withdrawing from classes, therefore not meeting the full-time student requirement in order to play. As a result, the school was disqualified and John Jay was given a second chance to dance… and they did not let their fans down.
