CAMDEN, N.J. – The Lehman College men's basketball team fell to Rutgers-Camden, 69-63, in non-conference action, on Monday evening. The Lightning had the lead for all but 1:12 in the first half, but the Scarlet Raptors rallied in the second half to earn the victory.

The Lightning (9-5) started off the second half strong, as a layup from junior guard Olando Minott (Bronx, N.Y./Samuel Gompers) put Lehman up by eight, 39-31, with 16:51 remaining in regulation. After Rutgers-Camden (7-6) sliced Lehman's lead to three, senior guard Scott Arias (New York, N.Y./Rice) fed the ball to freshman guard Andrew Utate (Washington Heights, N.Y./Mount Saint Michael Academy), who drilled a three-point shot to extend the Lightning's lead to 42-36 with just under 16 minutes left to play.

Later in the second half, the Lightning were clinging to a one-point lead, when Arias was fouled while trying to shoot a three-point shot. He successfully hit all three free throws to increase Lehman's lead to 55-51, with 8:33 remaining in the game. From that point on, the Scarlet Raptors took over by going on a 10-0 run, in a span of 5:14, to take a 61-55 lead, with just under three minutes to go. Sophomore forward Astrit Krasniqi (New York, N.Y./St. Agnes Boys) converted a layup to end Lehman's scoring drought that lasted 5:36, and decrease Rutgers-Camden's lead to 61-57, with 2:57 left. Unfortunately for the Lightning, the home team was able to pull away in the last couple of minutes to win the game by six.

Lehman had the game under control in the first half. A pair of free throws from Arias gave Lehman a 7-6 lead, just 6:20 into the game. The Lightning would not trail for the remainder of the half. A three-point basket from junior forward Jerome Jones (Bronx, N.Y./Mount Vernon) extended Lehman's lead to 26-18, with 6:03 left to play in the opening half. The eight-point advantage would equal the Lightning's largest lead of the game. The two teams went into the half with Lehman up, 33-29. Rutgers-Camden was able to rally in the second half, outscoring Lehman 40-30, to pick up their seventh win of the season.

Jones scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Minott scored 14. Arias, junior guard Jonathan Greenfield (Hartford, Conn./Windsor), and Utate each added eight points.

The Lightning will return to the APEX Main Gym, on Wednesday, for a key CUNY Athletic Conference game against Baruch, at 5:00 p.m.

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