Box Score
The Lehman College men's basketball team (7-4 Overall, 2-0 CUNYAC) suffered a tough loss, falling to non-conference powerhouse William Paterson University (8-1 Overall, 1-0 NJAC) by a score of 65-64 in a rare Monday afternoon matinee played at the APEX Center in the Bronx. The Lightning had leads of six points on three separate occasions but could not hold off the Pioneers' late surge as Lehman's five game winning streak came to an end.
Following two free throws by sophomore guard Adam Manning, the Lightning were holding onto a 58-52 lead with 4:52 remaining. Over the ensuing three minutes, William Paterson put together an 8-0 run to take a two point lead, 60-58, with 1:41 to go in the contest. After an Alen Redzic free throw drew Lehman within a point, the Pioneers failed to score on their possession, giving the Lightning the ball with 56 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, senior standout Duane Rhoden put Lehman back on top when he buried a layup and drew a foul. After he sunk a free throw to give his team a two-point lead, the Pioneers answered right back when junior guard Joseph Ellis drilled a three pointer from the corner to put his team in front by a point with 12 ticks left.
With Head Coach Steven Schulman deciding not to take a timeout, Lehman pushed the ball up the floor where it was Duane Rhoden time once again. Rhoden drove to the hoop and was fouled by William Paterson's Bobby Dunn with 5.6 seconds left. The DeWitt Clinton High School product drained both shots from the charity stripe, giving Lehman a one point lead. The Pioneers would then inbound the basketball and Courtney Nelson drove right to the hoop, burying a reverse layup with 1.1 seconds left to put William Paterson ahead for good. The Lightning failed to get a shot off following a timeout, as Lehman suffered its first loss in over a month. Following the contest, Coach Schulman was very encouraged by his team's play.
“We played our hearts out in this game,” he said. “The team really showed a lot of heart, giving it everything they had, and we were in a good position to win the game, we just couldn't get a stop in those final seconds. We limited our turnovers and we got some good shots, but we have some things that we need to improve upon as well before our game against Keystone College next week.”
In the victory for William Paterson, Nelson posted a game-high 20 points to go along with two assists. Ellis also contributed with a fine performance as he added 16 tallies to go along with five caroms and four assists, and sophomore guard Gabriel Paul scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds.
Despite the loss for the Lightning, Rhoden played a tremendous game, scoring 19 points and tallying two steals. Redzic was also strong in the loss as he added 13 points and tallied six rebounds, and sophomore Xavier Garvin dropped in eight points and snatched three boards.
The Lightning will return to action on Monday evening at 5:00pm as the team takes to the road to battle non-conference opponent Keystone College, with game-time scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
