STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Lehman College men's basketball team led for the better part of the first thirty minutes, but could not fend off a tough College of Staten Island team, falling 65-59 on Monday night. CSI is now tied for first place in the CUNY Athletic Conference with an 11-2 mark, and is 16-5 overall. Lehman remains in ninth place in the league at 2-11, and 7-15 overall.

Lehman led by as many as six points in the first half, when freshman Driton Hasangjekaj (Bronx, N.Y./DeWitt Clinton) made a conventional three-point-play with 15:45 to go. Both teams battled back and forth throughout the half, with the visiting Lightning leading 24-23 after the first 20 minutes.

In the second half, junior guard Kelvin Gil (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) made back-to-back three balls, extending the lead back to six points, just 1:33 in. CSI retaliated, before freshman Olu Williams (Bronx, N.Y./DeWitt Clinton) made a layup off of an offensive rebound, and again the Lehman lead was back to six points, this time with 12:56 to play.

Lehman would hold the lead, however tenuous, until the Dolphins' Jon Chadwick-Myers made a three-pointer at the 9:58 mark, giving the hosts the lead once again. CSI would extend the lead to as many as five, before Gil made his third three pointer of the game to tie the game at 53 points apiece, with just 3:45 to go.

Lehman would come up empty in their next four possessions, as the hosts built a five point lead. Junior forward Stanley Stephens (New York, N.Y./Manhattan Center) would make a layup with just 78 ticks remaining, bringing Lehman back to within three points, 58-55. But it was not meant to be, as CSI made their free throws down the stretch.

On the evening, junior guard Erasmo Soto (Harlem, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) led Lehman with 15 points, with Hasangjekaj scoring 12, and Gil 11. Hasangjekaj and Williams each had eight rebounds.

Lehman will play the final road game of the regular season on Wednesday, February 6, at the City College of New York.