Box Score
The Lehman College men's basketball team (0-2 Overall, 0-0 CUNYAC) dropped their second consecutive game to begin the season, falling to non-conference rival Mount Saint Vincent (1-0 Overall, 0-0 Skyline) by a score of 76-71 Tuesday evening in the Dolphins' first game in their brand new gymnasium – The Peter Jay Sharp Center – in Riverdale, NY.
After the first 20 minutes of play, the Dolphins led the Lightning by a score of 37-26, thanks mostly in part to the red-hot shooting display of Mount Saint Vincent. The Dolphins shot 53.6 percent from the floor while the Lightning connected on just 28.6 percent of their shots. Mount Saint Vincent freshman center Carson Miller scored eight points in the first session, and junior Dino Johnson netted eight points and dished assists.
For Lehman College in the first half, it was juniors Xavier Garvin and Alain Dela Cruz accounted for most of the Lightning's offense. Garvin shot 4-10 from the floor and netted a total of nine points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing a pair of assists, and Dela Cruz dropped in nine points and snatched two boards.
The Lightning missed seven free throws in the first 20 minutes of action, connecting on just four of their 11 shots from the charity stripe while the Dolphins netted four of their six attempts. Despite holding the lead, Mount Saint Vincent committed 16 turnovers compared to only nine for Lehman College. The Dolphins led by as many as 12 in the first half.
In the second half, the Lightning would battle back, eventually cutting the Dolphins' lead to just three points, 68-65 thanks to a Mathias Raggiotto trey with 1:20 remaining. At that point, it was the closest Lehman College had been since trailing 9-6 with 15:23 remaining in the first half. Mount Saint Vincent would get those three points back on their ensuing possession, however, as Johnson would nail a three-ball, putting the Dolphins up by six, 71-65. The Lightning would pull to within two points, though, on a three-pointer by Garvin with 7.9 seconds left to make the score 73-71 in favor of Mount Saint Vincent. After Johnson connected on one of two free throws to make it 74-71 Dolphins, Mount St. Vincent took a full timeout.
Following the timeout, Lehman's Chris King would throw the ball a little bit too far for Garvin who tried to save the ball from going out of bounds, but he was unable to keep his balance as he fell out of bounds giving the Dolphins possession. Mount St. Vincent would then inbound the ball to Johnson who would seal the game with a layup.
In the second half, Garvin scored 11 points for Lehman and finished with 20 points for the evening. Senior Perry Daniel netted 11 of his 15 total points in the second half as well, and Raggiotto was a force in the second session, dropping in 11 points after being held scoreless in the first half. The Lightning shot 42.5 percent in the second half, a better showing than their first half shooting display, but they couldn't overcome the red-hot shooting of the Dolphins as Mount Saint Vincent connected on 46.7 percent of their shots in the second half and shot 50 percent for the night.
Leading the way for the Dolphins in the victory was Miller as he finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, while Johnson netted 19 points and dished five assists. Nick DiMaggio also scored 11 points in the victory. The Dolphins dished 18 assists compared to 12 for Lehman, and the Dolphins shot 64.7 percent from the charity stripe (11-17) compared to just 52.9 percent for Lehman (9-17)
The Lightning will look to bounce back this weekend as they travel to New Paltz, NY to battle Bridgewater State College on the first day of the SUNY New Paltz Tournament. Game-time is scheduled is 3:00pm. Depending on how the Lightning fare on the first day, they will take on either SUNY New Paltz or St. Joseph's College of Long Island at 3:00pm or 8:00pm on Saturday. Both games for the Lightning this weekend will be broadcasted on the Lehman Athletics Broadcasting Network.
