NEW YORK -- Led by Ari Grant's career-high 25 boards, the Cannoneers (6-7) out rebounded Cooper Union 52-39 in Pratt's 64-57 non-conference men's basketball win Saturday afternoon.
Grant scored 16 points and tallied four steals in addition to his 25 rebounds, and freshman Andrew Yaglenski scored 18 points in leading four starters in double figures. Fellow frosh Khari Jones returned after missing four games due to injury with his third double-double, totaling 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds as Pratt snapped a three-game slide.
A 12-1 run spanning seven minutes, 17 seconds was capped by a Jones layup that put the visitors on top 14-7 with 8:41 left in the first half. After Cooper's Andrey Kovalev swung the Hawks back on top 22-20 with a three-pointer at the 2:30 mark, six points from Yaglenski over the final 2:23 gave Pratt a 29-23 lead at the intermission.
An 8-0 Cooper run out of halftime handed the Hawks back the lead at 33-31, but Pratt responded with a 10-0 run capped by back-to-back Jones layups and a Yaglenski three-point play. Matthew Smarsch's jumper with 10:27 to go briefly gave Cooper the lead at 42-41, but Grant answered with four straight free throws, and Pratt never looked back. A Jones layup gave the Cannoneers the team's largest lead at 60-50 inside the 2:00 mark, and Pratt leld on for the 64-57 victory.
The win snaps a three-game losing streak for Pratt, which improves to within a game of .500 at 6-7. The Cannoneers shot 45 percent (26-58) from the floor, holding the Hawks to 32 percent (22-68) shooting. Grant's 25 and Jones' 15 rebounds alone outmanned Cooper's 39 rebounds as a team, as Pratt won the battle of the boards 52-39.
Pratt returns to play Tuesday night in non-league action at 6:30 against The New School at the Pratt ARC.
