HYDE PARK, NY -- Pratt Institute trimmed an 11-point deficit down to one in the final seconds, but a 7-0 hole in the opening minute proved insurmountable as the Cannoneers fell 77-76 at the Culinary Institute of America Saturday in Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletics Conference men's basketball play.
Center Khari Jones led four Pratt players in double figures with 20 points in 24 minutes off the bench, and his game-high 13 rebounds were also a season best. HVIAC Rookie of the Week Bubby Vernon followed with 19 points, senior Mehmet Doganata added 11 on 3-6 shooting from three-point range in reserve duty, and Tytus Millikan totaled a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Cannoneers controlled the glass in out-rebounding CIA 56-42, but 7-15 shooting at the free throw line (47 percent) and the Steels early 7-0 run proved to be the difference.
An Adam Blufarb jumper got Pratt on the board trailing 7-2 3:20 into the contest, and back-to-back Jones layups helped the Cannoneers crawl to within a two just inside the 8:00 mark of the first at 18-16.
Millikan and Doganata connected from downtown, followed by a Jones dunk that capped an 8-0 run that gave Pratt its first lead at 30-27. The Steels responded with five straight free throws and a Frederick Moore jumper that beat the buzzer in sending the host into halftime leading 34-30.
Culinary's momentum carried over out of the intermission, with a Robert Yoakum triple and two Anthony Russo free throws in taking a 39-30 lead. A Millikan layup pulled the Cannoneers to within 43-41 with 15:48 to play, but a Najee Woods jumper later increased the Steels lead to 11, at 66-55, inside the 5:00 mark.
After a Jones layup trimmed the lead back to nine, reigning HVIAC Player of the Week Andrew Yaglenski, held scoreless for the first 35 minutes, connected on a three-pointer and a layup with a Blufarb lay-in in between, and Pratt suddenly trailed 68-64. A Millikan basket trimmed the margin to two points at 1:59, as did a pair of Yaglenski free throws 29 seconds later.
Vernon's three-pointer made it a one-point game with 11 seconds to play, and after Woods provided hope by missing a pair of free throws, the Cannoneers couldn't get off a potential game-winning basket attempt, falling 77-76.
For CIA, (5-6, 1-6 HVIAC), Yoakum led all scorers with 23 points on 6-16 shooting from deep.
At 4-5 (0-3 HVIAC), Pratt continues its two-game HVIAC road trip on Sunday in Syracuse for the program's first-ever meeting with SUNY ESF at 1:00 p.m.
