Box Score
The Lehman College men's basketball team (0-3 Overall, 0-0 CUNYAC) dropped their third consecutive game to start the 2009-2010 campaign as the Lightning fell to the Bridgewater State College Bears (2-0 Overall, 0-0 MASCAC) by a score of 68-56 on the first day of the SUNY New Paltz Tip-Off Tournament Friday afternoon at the Athletic and Wellness Center in New Paltz, NY.
In this contest, the Lightning trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, 33-16. Lehman College would finish the first session strong, however, ending the half on a 6-0 run to pull within 11 points, 33-22, after 20 minutes of play. In the second half, Lehman would eventually pull to within four points, 54-50, with just over six minutes to play. The Bears, however, would never let the Lightning get any closer than four points, eventually holding off the Lehman attack and grabbing the victory to advance to the championship game of the tournament.
In the victory for the Bears, Bridgewater State College was led by junior guard Judah Jackson who scored 15 points (7-16 FG) to go along with four rebounds and three steals. Teammate Matt McLaughlin also had a fine all-around game, netting 12 points (4-7 FG, 4-4 FT) while snatching seven rebounds, dishing three assists and tallying two steals, and junior Nicholas Motta dropped in 12 points (3-7 FG) to go along with eight rebounds and four steals. For the game, the Bears shot a blistering 47.1 percent from the floor. Bridgewater State also dished 16 assists compared to just seven for Lehman College.
Despite the loss for the Lightning, Jonathan DeJesus scored a game-high 16 points (6-10 FG) to go along with 13 rebounds and four steals, and Xavier Garvin put forth a solid effort with 12 points and five steals. For the game, the Lightning shot 38.1 percent on the evening and out-rebounded the Bears by a margin of 39-31. Following the game, Head Coach Steven Schulman gave his thoughts on the contest.
“I felt that we gave a terrific effort against a very difficult Bridgewater State team and we stuck with them until the latter stages of the contest, but the Bears were too resilient and too strong in the end. I think the experience playing in these games will help us down the line, however, and I'm confident that we're making strides and improving.”
The Lightning will now take on SUNY New Paltz on Saturday afternoon in the consolation game of the SUNY New Paltz Tournament. Game-time is scheduled for 3:00pm. Those who can't make it to the game can listen to all of the action on the Lehman Athletics Broadcasting Network.
