Box Score
New York, N.Y. -- Despite three players in double figures and a valiant effort in the second half, the Lehman College men's basketball team lost to CUNYAC foe Baruch College, 65-63, in an exciting matchup Friday night on the road.

The Lightning now drop to 3-3 in the CUNYAC conference and 6-7 overall with the loss. Leading the way for the team was Damian Bellamy, who posted a team-high 20 points (9-of-12 shooting) along with eight rebounds off the bench. Jean Marcial chipped in with 14 points, eight boards and four steals while John Brens dished out a team-best six assists along with 11 points.

For the Bearcats, they improve to 10-3 overall and 4-1 in the conference. Chimaechi Ekekeugbor paced four players in double figures with 14 points along with nine rebounds in the victory. William Sixsmith also poured in 14 points of his own, while Bryler Paige (11 points, three assists) and George Smyth (11 points, three boards) helped out with double-figure scoring nights.

A relatively even game, Lehman shot 39.1% (25-for-64) from the field to Baruch's 39.7% (23-for-58) throughout the contest. The Lightning earned a slight 44-39 edge on the rebounding front, while also winning the points in the paint 28-26 in defeat.

Baruch would shoot 53.5% from the field in the first half, including hitting 5-of-11 from three-point range, to help build a double-digit lead. Bellamy would charge back for Lehman, scoring 13 of his 20 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the stanza, as the Lightning would chip away at the deficit as Baruch took a 38-33 lead into the half.

In the second, Lehman got a quick 7-0 including a Mylo Mitchell triple to tie the game at 40. Trailing 52-49 with 11:09 remaining, a Bellamy and a Vince Young basket gave the Lightning a 53-52 lead at 9:22. It would be their last lead of the game, as Baruch would score 10 of the next 13 points to regain the advantage. They would fight their way back to three points, but a Ekekeugbor triple with 18 seconds remaining salted away the game for the Bearcats.

Up next for Lehman is a return to the APEX for a CUNYAC doubleheader at home, when they face Hunter College Monday. Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Live stats and streaming video will be made available at LehmanAthletics.com.