NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Lehman College men's basketball team earned its first win of the nascent season on Saturday, besting the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 68-53, in the Consolation Round of the Mitchell College Tip-Off Tournament. Lehman improves to 1-1 after the weekend tournament, while Albany Pharmacy is 0-2.
Junior guard Brandon Stolz (Bronx, N.Y./Truman) was named to the All-Tournament Team, averaging 20.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. He shot 54% from the floor over the weekend.
On Friday night, in the opening round of the four-team tournament, Lehman fell to Albertus Magnus, 86-73, while Albany Pharmacy lost to host Mitchell, 102-52.
On Saturday, Lehman jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, and never trailed in the game.
In the first half, the lead swelled to as many as 17 points, 23-6, when senior Zach Basso (New York, N.Y./All Hallows) stole the ball and went the length of the floor for an uncontested layup, with 13:35 to go. The Panthers would trim the lead to nine points, before Lehman junior Kevan Proctor (Brooklyn, N.Y./Grand Street Campus) grabbed his own rebound and made the put-back, pushing the lead back to 11 points, with just over three minutes remaining in the first half. The Lightning would lead, 38-27, heading into intermission.
In the second half, Albany Pharmacy would come out hot, trimming the lead to just six points, 40-34, less than four minutes in. For the next seven minutes, the teams would trade buckets, before Lehman used an 8-0 run to re-establish control of the game.
For the game, junior Stanley Stephens (New York, N.Y./Manhattan Center) led all scorers with 23 points, while senior Kelvin Gil (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) added 17. Stolz and Proctor also reached double digits in scoring, with 14 and 10, respectively. On the boards, Proctor and Stolz were the only two in the game to grab double figures, with 13 and 12.
The Lightning remain on the road for game number three, at William Paterson University on Tuesday, November 19. The home opener is slated for Nov. 21, against Vaughn College, at 7:00 p.m.