Bronx, N.Y. – The Lehman College men's basketball team posted a 97-65 victory over visiting Medgar Evers College during the opening round of CUNYAC Championships on Saturday at The APEX Main Gym.
The victory secures the #3 seeded Lightnings berth into the CUNYAC Tournament Semifinals which will take place next Tuesday against #2 seeded hosts Baruch College.
Lehman, which improves to a 16-10 overall record, had all its active players in the scoresheet on Saturday against the #6 seeded Medgar Evers which conclude the season at 7-19 mark.
"We got a great contribution from all the players," said Lehman head coach,
Steven Schulman. "I'm very proud of my team's effort today and this is just the first step towards our goal which continues next Tuesday at Baruch."
After Medgar Evers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening three minutes of the game, Lehman went on a 49 to 24 run to take a 21-point advantage going into the intermission. The Lightning never trailed after those opening minutes of the first half and held on for the victory while shooting 60 percent from the field, including 55% from downtown, and 85 percent from the free throw line.
The Lightning were led by guard
Tommy Batista, who scored 21 points, dished out eight assists and had three steals, while forward
Isaiah Geathers added 20 points with eight rebounds and eight assists. Geathers efforts also earned him CUNYAC Player of the Game honors.
"We all had to step up for the win after Gian (Batista) was in foul trouble," said
Tommy Batista, after he played his last collegiate game at home wearing a Lehman uniform. "I'm just happy we pulled out the victory and now we advanced to the next round. I want to continue winning so our season continues."
Also hitting in double-digits in scoring on Saturday for Lehman was forward
Basheeru Camara with 12 points, while he grabbed seven boards. Guard
Gian Batista and forward
Mo Idrissou had nine points each, while teammate
Will Feldman scored eight points off the bench for the Lightning's victory.