WAYNE, N.J. - The Lehman Lightning let a 12 point second half lead slip away on Friday night, dropping a non-conference game to host William Paterson University, 76-68, to fall to 5-4 on the season and stretch its losing streak to three games.

Following a jump shot by Kelvin Gil that extended Lehman's lead to 44-32 with 15:23 remaining, the Pioneers went on a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to tie the game at 44.  The Lightning responded with five straight points to regain the lead, 49-44, on a three point play by Eric Matthieu Kazadi and two free throws by Mathias Raggiotto.

During the next two minutes that followed the game was either tied or involved a lead change six times with William Paterson finally gaining the upper hand on a layup by Jaques Conceicao with 6:07 showing on the clock.  A three-pointer by Rick DeStefano then extended the Pioneers advantage to four.

Lehman battled back to tie the game one final time with 3:35 to go on two free throws by Raggiotto, but a 7-0 William Paterson run spelled the end for the Lightning.

The first half was a positive one for the Lightning, as the team led nearly the entire way, taking the lead with 15:20 left, and eventually closing out the half up 30-26.

Gil was the high man for Lehman, scoring 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting.  Phil Ductan added 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Raggiotto contributed 13 and Stanley Stephens tossed in a season-high 10 points.

William Paterson's Corey Chandler led four Pioneers players with 18 points.  Junior Lance Brown produced a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds.  Conceicao (11 points) and DeStefano (10 points) also reached double figures.

For the game the Lightning was outrebounded handily, 45-30, by the Pioneers, with Lehman also allowing William Paterson to shoot 53 percent from the floor in the second half.

William Paterson improves to 9-1 with the victory.

The next time Lehman steps on the court will be on December 29 when it takes on Montclair State University as part of the Comfort Inn Holiday Classic being held at Centenary College.