Box Score New York, NY - All five Lehman (3-2:1-0) starters tallied double figures to lead the Lightning to a 94-85 victory over John Jay (0-4:0-1) in the CUNYAC opener for both teams.
John Brens paced the Lightning with 21 points, six assists and six steals.
Chaun Miller added 18 points, four assists and three steals.
Olando Minott netted 14 points and led the team with seven rebounds.
Yoav Elbez and
Niv Solomon registered 11 and 10 points respectively.
The Lightning were propelled to victory by shooting 67% from the floor in the second half. They were also able to get to the foul line 37 times while hitting on 27.
The Bloodhounds jumped out to a 19-4 lead just five minutes into the contest. Lehman was able to battle back. Five minutes later the deficit was only two and both teams realized in was going to be a battle. The Lightning took their first lead of the night at the 2:34 mark of the first half as
Andrew Utate converted one of two from the line to give Lehman a 40-39 advantage. The foul shot started Lehman on a 9-0. John Jay scored a bucket in the closing seconds of the half to cut the Lehman lead to 48-42 at intermission. Two and half minutes into the second half and still nursing a six point advantage the Lightning went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to push the lead to double digits for the first time. The Bloodhounds were able to briefly cut the lead to eight with just under 14 minutes to play but would not get any closer. Still owning a nine point advantage the Lightning went on another 7-0 run to push the lead up to 16 with five minutes to play. The Bloodhounds never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
The Bloodhounds Essien Epps led all scorers with 22 points.
Lehman is back in action on Tuesday night. The Lightning will step out of league play and host Maritime College at 7:00 PM in the APEX.
