Bronx, N.Y. – The Lehman College men's basketball team fell behind early in the first half, and could never climb back into contention as they dropped a nonconference decision to Yeshiva University, 71-61, Wednesday night at the APEX Center.
Jean Marcial led the Lightning (4-5) on the offensive end, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds in a losing effort. Damian Bellamy recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 boards, while Andrew Utate and John Brens each chipped in 11.
The Maccabees (7-4) prevailed thanks to a game-high 19 points from Judah Cohen, including five three-pointers, along with six rebounds. Michael Berg added 14 points to go with six boards and five assists, while Michael Hayon fell a rebound shy of a double-double (10 points, nine rebounds) in the victory.
Yeshiva excelled on the offensive end, shooting a 46.9% from the field, including 7-for-16 from the three-point land. They also won the edge on the rebounding with a 42-35 advantage, and their defense held the Lightning to just 31.8% (21-for-66) throughout the game.
After an early lead to start the game, the Maccabees controlled the rest of the contest and built up a double-digit lead halfway through and went into halftime up 39-23. In the second, Lehman would attempt to chip away at the deficit, getting to within seven but it proved to be too late as Yeshiva closed out the win.
This is the final game before the holidays, and the season will resume for the Lightning December 29th as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic as the Lightning will face Thomas College at 7:00 p.m. They then will take on Castleton the following day at 6:00 p.m. Live stats and streaming video will be made available on LehmanAthletics.com