Box Score
The Lehman College men's basketball team (20-9 Overall, 9-4 CUNYAC) won their semifinal game in the ECAC Metro NY/NJ Men's Basketball Tournament by defeating the Montclair State University Red Hawks (21-7 Overall, 11-2 NJAC) by a score of 74-63 Saturday afternoon at the APEX Center in the Bronx.
Despite the Red Hawks being the No. 1 seed, Montclair State was unable to host the game due to a building conflict, and the game was pushed to Lehman College. The Lightning were donning their road-blue jerseys and were technically the road team in the contest, but the Lehman faithful in the stands made it feel like a home game.
The Lightning were led in the game by a dominating performance by senior center Alen Redzic, as the big man recorded team-highs of 26 points and 10 rebounds. He also swatted seven Montclair State shots on the night while shooting 12-18 from the floor. Sharpshooter Scottie Nimmons scored 20 points for the second consecutive game while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing two assists. Sophomore guard Alain De la Cruz added nine points, eight rebounds, and five steals. Following the game, Head Coach Steven Schulman gave his thoughts about the victory.
“I really loved the way we played today,” Schulman said. “This was a tough game against a tough, grind-it-out opponent in Montclair State University, and I felt that we rose to the occasion in this one. We have one game remaining in our season, and it's against a tough NYU team that is very versatile. We'll play to the best of our abilities and leave everything on the court.”
Lehman College connected on 43.9 percent of its shots while holding the Red Hawks to 34.9 percent shooting. The Lightning also controlled things in the paint, swatting 10 shots while Montclair State blocked three. The Lightning also had things working from beyond-the-arc, connecting on seven three-pointers while the Red Hawks connected on just two treys.
Despite the loss for the Montclair State Red Hawks, Jon Georges put forth a spectacular evening with a team-high 26 points to go along 14 rebounds. Daniel McRae also helped out by netting nine points and snatching 14 rebounds.
The Lightning will finish their season tomorrow afternoon as the team takes to the road to battle New York University in the championship game of the ECAC Metro NY/NJ Basketball Tournament, with game-time for the contest scheduled for 2:00pm.
