BRONX, N.Y. – Three players recorded career-highs in points as the shorthanded the City College of New York (5-10, 1-6 CUNYAC) rallied back from an eight-point deficit in the second-half to defeat Lehman College (6-9, 1-5 CUNYAC), 71-67, on Saturday afternoon at the APEX.
All 15 of David Solano's points came in the second-half as the freshman went 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Zachary Heiss finished with a career-high 18 points and hit five three-pointers to lead all scorers along with Anthony Lewis' 18 points. Jordan Ortega posted a career-high 14 points (eight in the second-half) and Paul Dail dished out 11 assists to reach double figures for the third time this season as Dail, Lewis and Heiss played all 40 minutes of the contest. Overall, the Beavers shot 50 percent from three-point range as all nine makes came from Heiss and Solano.
The victory marks the first City University of New York Athletic Conference victory since Feb. 18, 2012, a 65-63 overtime win against Hunter College and is the first regulation conference victory for the Beavers since Feb. 11, 2011 against the Lightning (73-71). The victory also ends a six-game losing streak for CCNY.
Trailing by five with 7:19 remaining in the game, Solano hit a three-pointer to cut CCNY's deficit to two before a Lehman three gave the Lightning a five-point cushion. However, the sharp shooting Solano continued to hit three-pointers at will and drained another jumper to cut Lehman's lead to two, 61-59, with 5:44 remaining.
The Beavers continued their hot shooting from beyond the arc as Heiss and Solano hit back-to-back three's to give the Beavers a four-point lead. The Beavers and Lightning traded points before Solano drained another three-pointer with 12 seconds left to put an end to CCNY's losing streak.
The Beavers trailed 44-35 at the half as the Beavers were without leading scorer Brandon Reeves. Dail, Lewis and Heiss played all 20 minutes and were effective as Dail dished six first-half assists, while Heiss scored nine first-half points, all from beyond the arc (3-of-5). Lewis led all first-half scorers with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe while adding three rebounds and Derell Williams came off of the Beavers bench to provide second chance opportunities as the senior pulled down six first-half rebounds (two offensive).
CCNY came out of halftime and scored six unanswered points as Williams hit consecutive buckets and Anthony Stephens, who was making the first start of his Beavers career, scored a lay-up to cut CCNY's deficit to three.
The Beavers return to action on Saturday, Jan. 19 as CCNY travels to Brooklyn to face the Bulldogs of Brooklyn College. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
For full coverage of Beavers basketball, please visit CCNYAthletics.com, the official home of CCNY sports, follow @CCNYSports on Twitter and like us on Facebook (/CCNYAthletics).