Box Score
Hunter College's Rocco Rubino connected on a three-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining in overtime as the Hawks (10-13 Overall, 6-5 CUNYAC) dealt the Lehman College Lightning (8-15 Overall, 5-6 CUNYAC) a heartbreaking 73-71 defeat at the Sportsplex on Friday night. With the victory, the Hawks currently have sole possession of second place in the North Division, while the Lightning currently hold third place. Both teams have two conference games remaining.
Rubino struggled all evening long with his shot, missing eight of his previous 10 shots before draining the game-winning trey. He finished the evening with a total of 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Two other players scored in double figures for the Hawks, including Maxwell Dubois who – like Rubino – couldn't find his shot all night. Dubois missed 20 shots – hitting on just six of 26 attempts and netting 14 points in the process. He also grabbed 15 rebounds and dished four assists. Mark Courtien scored 12 points and dished four assists while nailing four three-pointers on the night and shooting four-of-nine from the field.
The Lightning played a solid all-around game despite not being able to notch the victory. It was a complete team effort – with five players scoring in double figures and the team shooting over 45 percent (45.3) from the field as a unit (29-64 FG). Jonathan DeJesus put forth one of the best performances of his career in the loss as he scored 24 points while hitting on nine of his 16 attempts from the field. He also snatched 15 rebounds and tallied three assists. Alain Dela Cruz scored 11 points and grabbed nine boards, while Patryk Odedina netted 10 points (5-11 FG) and collected nine rebounds. Perry Daniel dropped in 12 points and snatched eight caroms, and Xavier Garvin chipped in with 10 points on the night. Following the game, head coach Steven Schulman gave his thoughts.
“I feel that we came out ready to play, and we truly played a solid, all-around, sound game here tonight,” Schulman said. “We took Hunter to the brink in front of a hostile crowd, and we gave them all they could handle, but they still found a way to win in the end, and that's all that matters. It's very important to finish games strong, and I felt as though we did play strong all evening despite the outcome. We'll try to shake this one off and get ready for York College on Wednesday.”
The Lightning defense held Hunter College to a 34 percent shooting clip for the evening (26-77), but it was the turnovers that doomed Lehman. The Lightning committed 24 turnovers while only forcing 13 Hunter miscues – something very rare considering Lehman has made a it a habit of committing less turnovers than their opponents this season.
Lehman College will return to action Wednesday evening as the Lightning travel to York College to battle the Cardinals in another conference contest, with game-time scheduled for 8:00pm.
