BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Sophomore forward Kurt Thomas (Dallas, Texas) scored 23 points as the Pratt Institute men's basketball team opened its season with a 73-62 victory over John Jay College of Criminal Justice on Friday night at the Activity Resource Center.
Pratt (1-0) used a balanced scoring attack and stingy defense to pull away from John Jay (0-1), capitalizing on 27 turnovers and controlling the paint.
The Cannoneers fell behind 7-2 in the early minutes and trailed 16-13 following a Bloodhound 3-pointer with 12:22 remaining in the first half. Pratt responded with a 12-0 run over the next six minutes, taking a 25-16 lead with 5:43 left before the intermission. An 8-0 spurt late in the period extended the advantage to 37-24, and the Cannoneers carried a 37-27 edge into the break.
The Bloodhounds fought back early in the second half, cutting the Pratt lead to 44-41 on a layup with 15:16 to play and pulling within 53-50 with 8:36 remaining. The Cannoneers countered immediately with an 8-0 run, capped by a Thomas layup at the 6:17 mark that pushed the margin back to double figures at 61-50. A fast-break dunk by senior guard Amare Thompson (Teaneck, N.J.) with 39 seconds left gave Pratt its largest lead of the night at 73-58.
Thomas paced all scorers, making 11 of 18 shots from the field while scoring 14 of his 23 points in the second half. He also added four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Sophomore guard Elijah Fermaint (Orlando, Fla.) filled the stat sheet flirting with a triple-double with 13 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals, shooting a perfect 10 of 10 from the free-throw line. Senior forward Thomas Prendergast (Bayport, N.Y.) chipped in eight points on 2-of-2 shooting from the floor and 4-of-4 from the stripe, while adding four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
First-year guard Roman Hughes (Miramar, Fla.) made his collegiate debut and first career start, contributing eight points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Graduate student guard Donovan Callahan (New Kensington, Pa.) added seven points off the bench, scoring five during the decisive 12-0 run.
Pratt converted 27 John Jay turnovers into 31 points and collected 10 steals. The Cannoneers also owned a 38-26 advantage in points in the paint and finished 23 of 30 (76.7%) from the free-throw line.
Tiziah Spears scored 19 points and Aidony Nivar added 18 points to lead the Bloodhounds.
Pratt travels to face Clinton Hill rivals St. Joseph's University, Brooklyn on Tuesday, Nov, 10. in a nonconference matchup tipping at at 6 p.m
