Box Score Bronx, N.Y. – On a day celebrating the players of the past, the Lehman College men's basketball team erupted with a second-half run and held on to defeat John Jay, 80-72, Saturday afternoon on Homecoming Weekend at the APEX Center.
The Lightning (12-8, 8-4 CUNYAC) have now won four straight games and six of their last seven. They are currently placed third in the CUNYAC, just behind Baruch and a half-game up on CCNY.
Andrew Utate scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including hitting his first four shots of the contest.
Jean Marcial added 19 points in the win, while
Damian Bellamy fell a rebound shy of a double-double with 15 points and 9 rebounds.
They got a game-best six assists from
Mylo Mitchell to go with 10 points and five boards, while
Luis Hernandez chipped in with 11 points along with five assists.
For the Bloodhounds, Kiernan Hayes led the team with 19 points, while Essien Epps added nine points with 10 rebounds and four assists in a losing effort.
Both teams went back-and-forth in the early parts of the first half, trading the lead six times in the stanza. With John Jay up 31-30 with 3:30 in the first, Lehman scored eight of the last 10 points in the half to move ahead 38-33 at halftime.
In the second, the Lightning extended their lead to double figures in the first 4:02 of the half. Two three-pointers by Mitchell, a Bellamy lay-in and two Hernandez free throws for a 10-2 run that pushed the advantage to double figures.
The Bloodhounds hung tough, chipping the deficit down to just three points at one point of the stanza. Up five with 4:52 left, the Lightning used a quick 9-0 run by Marcial and Mitchell over the next two minutes to put the game out of reach for the win.
Lehman returns to action Tuesday night when they host Baruch College in CUNYAC play as part of a doubleheader with the women's team. Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the APEX Center. Live stats and streaming video will be made available at LehmanAthletics.com.
