Baruch led by as many as 12 in the first half and went into break up, 37-30. In the second half, the Bearcats led 50-38 with 16:36 remaining, before Medgar Evers went on a 13-2 run to close within 52-51 four minutes later.
The Cougars got their first lead of the game on a tap-in by sophomore guard Perry Wilkes (Brooklyn, N.Y./Van Arsdale), a CUNYAC all-star with 10:18 left in the game. Wilkes finished the game with 19 points and nine rebounds.
Down 72-71 with 4:13 remaining, MEC stormed out to a 78-72 lead with former CUNYAC Rookie of the Year Kenneth Griffin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Transit Tech) scoring the first five points (he finished up with a game-high 20 points) and freshman forward Clovis Essis (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys & Girls) capping the 7-0 run with two free throws, to put the Cougars in prime position for the possible upset.
The Bearcats received a huge three pointer from reserve guard Chris Williams (Atlanta, Ga./South Gwinnett) with his only bucket of the game to start a 7-2 run for the tie. The final run in regulation time was capped with a layup from junior guard Carl Emengo (Brooklyn, N.Y./Canarsie) for a 79-79 tie.
The Bearcats won the game from the foul line in overtime, hitting on 8-10 attempts, including 4-4 from Karis in the final 15.1 seconds to ice the game.
Senior center Cheick Fadika (Abidjan, Ivory Coast/Petit) had 19 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for Baruch, while forwards Robi Davidson (Tel-Aviv, Israel/Beverly Hills) added 16 points and Anwar Baptiste (Bronx, NY/St. Raymond's) chipped in 12 points.
Baruch will play # 4 seed Lehman on Tuesday night in the semifinals. Tip off at Staten Island is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
CUNYAC contributed to this story.