The Lehman men's basketball team was looking for some home cooking following a tough non-conference road trip to the Hamilton College Tournament this past weekend.

It turned out a return to the friendly confines of the APEX in the Bronx did the trick as the Lightning walloped visiting Vaughn College 78-51 to earn its first win of the season.

Most remarkable about the Lightning's robust margin of victory and final point total was that it came despite a tightly contested first half that had Lehman leading by just one point, 21-20, at the break.

The Lightning came out flying over the first 10 minutes of the second half, however, as they blitzed the Warriors behind the play of Samuel Batista and George Nimmons to the tune of a 31-9 run. When the carnage was over, the Lightning had a 50-29 lead and the game firmly in hand.

Only playing 11 minutes and contributing a single basket in the first half, Batista found his rhythm after halftime, notching seven of Lehman's first 11 points as the Lightning opened up a 10-point cushion with 16:43 remaining. St. Joseph's tried its best to hang around, pulling to within 35-28 on a layup by Rupy Alvia.  That proved to be the the closest the Warriors would get for the rest of the game as Batista knocked down a three-pointer, Chukwuma Ndukwe and Quaseem Weems dropped in baskets, and George Nimmons scored on three straight possessions. The Lightning cruised the rest of the way as Coach Steve Schulman was able to empty his bench to close out the win.

In addition to Batista's 20-point effort, the Lightning received a third straight double-double from junior Jonathan DeJesus who finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out. The Lightning also was able to significantly cut its turnovers, finishing with 17 after coughing up the ball no fewer than 24 times in its first three games.

Lehman hits the road for its next three contests, including the beginning of the CUNYAC schedule, which gets underway on Tuesday versus the City College of New York.