Nov. 29, 2011

JAMAICA, N.Y. - At one point during the second half of the Lightning's 68-57 win over the City College of New York on Tuesday night, Beavers assistant coach Kelvin Bigelow had seen enough ofKelvin Gil's shooting proficiency and instructed one of his players to not let number 25 out of his sight. 

Not long thereafter, number 25 found himself open and did what Bigelow was afraid of, which was bury another jumper. 

It was that kind of night for Gil as he torched the Beavers to the tune of 17 second half points on the way to a game-high of 23.  Included in those 23 points were five three-pointers knocked down in six attempts, many of which came at just the right moment as the Lightning overcame a 31-26 halftime deficit to earn its first conference win of the season.

Junior Mathias Raggiotto, who scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, was the kindling that sparked the Lehman turnaround.  The junior began the second half by draining a three-pointer and then found Patryk Odedina for an easy layup off a drive and dish to immediately cut into the deficit.  On the next possession Gil canned a three to put Lehman in front 33-31.

Both teams took turns taking the lead before Gil had another answer for the Beavers when he dropped in a three to push Lehman ahead 38-37.  Baskets by CCNY's Derell Williams and Israel Vickers sandwiched around a jumper by Raggiotto set the stage for Gil's fourth triple of the game, which regained the lead for the Lightning at 43-41 with 12:37 remaining.

Lehman's decisive run came five minutes later following two free throws by Vickers that sliced CCNY's deficit to 51-49.

Over the remaining eight minutes, the Lightning outscored the Beavers 17-8, highlighted by Gil's fifth and final three-pointer of the game, six points by Raggiotto, and baskets from George Nimmons and Sebastian Pessoa.  Overall, Lehman was outstanding in the second half from the floor, shooting 64 percent to just 38 percent for the Beavers.

City College did its best to take control of the game in the first half behind sophomore Matthew Faso, who came off the bench to jumpstart the Beavers.  With CCNY ahead 18-17, Faso was right in the middle of the team's 10-1 run, spotting up for two three-pointers that eventually led to a timeout by the Lightning.  Four points by Pessoa and a conventional three-point play by Gil narrowed Lehman's deficit entering the locker room.

With the win, the Lightning improves to 4-1.

The team next plays on Friday, December 2 when it will travel to Hunter to deal with the Hawks and their Alumni Day festivities.