Feb 01, 2014
Brooklyn, NY --- The Brooklyn College Men's Basketball team held off a late rally from the Lightning of Lehman College on Saturday afternoon, as the Bulldogs defeated the Lightning, 81-72, in City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) action.
BC has now won three straight to improve to 8-12 overall and 4-7 in the CUNYAC; while Lehman falls to 11-9 overall and 5-6 in the conference.
The win also evens the season series between the two teams, as the Lightning defeated the Bulldogs on their home court, 73-62, back on January 4th.
Junior Jai Kellman led all scorers with 25 points, to go along with six assists and five rebounds, while sophomore Egzon Gjonbalaj added 23 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Classmate Jamel Gist chipped in with 17 points. The trio combined for nine of BC's 11 three pointers in the game to fuel the Bulldogs' offense. Junior Valon Djombalic grabbed 10 rebounds.
For Lehman, Kelvin Gil led the Lightning with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Stanley Stephens added 22 points. Jerrome Jones contributed with 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
The teams combined for three ties and two lead changes in the first 13 minutes of the game. After a basket from Jones that tied the game at 24 all with 7:53 left before the halftime break, the Bulldogs ran off to a 10-1 run to take a nine point advantage, 34-25, with 5:51 left in the first half. Gist led the run scoring six of the 10 points.
BC would eventually lead by as many as 14 twice, before taking a 12-point cushion, 42-30, into the locker room.
The Lightning would start the second half on an 8-2 spurt, led by three-pointers from Stephens and Edwin Diaz, to cut their deficit to six, 44-38, with 17:42 on the clock. The Bulldogs would answer with a 12-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 18, 56-38, with 13:05 remaining in the game. Gjonbalaj helped spark the run scoring six of the 12 points and coming up with a pair of big steals.
The Lightning would not go down without a fight; however, as Lehman cut its deficit down to three, 58-55, using a 17-2 run over the next six minutes. The Bulldogs would keep their composure and hold on to its lead, eventually going back up by double figures. BC used a pair of threes from Kellman and another trifecta from Gjonbalaj to keep the Lightning at arm's length and eventually go on to take home the hard fought nine-point win, 81-72.
Kellman and Gjonbalaj combined to score 35 of Brooklyn's 39 second half points to lead the Bulldogs to victory.
A big key to the BC win was turnovers, as the Bulldogs scored 23 points off of 22 Lehman Turnovers. The Bulldogs also pulled down 16 offensive rebounds that led to 23 second chance points.
For the game, Brooklyn shot 40.0% (28-70) from the field, including 35.5% (11-31) from three. The Bulldogs also shot 63.6% (14-22) from the free throw line.
The Lightning shot 42.0% (21-50) from the field, including 42.9% (6-14) from three. Lehman took full advantage from the charity stripe going 24-for-29 (82.8%) from the line.
Brooklyn will look to continue its solid play as of late and climb the conference standings, as the Bulldogs will travel to ARC Arena to take on the Bearcats of Baruch College in another big CUNYAC matchup this Monday, February 3rd. The game is slated for a 7:30 pm tip time. Live stats will be available for the game and BC Radiowill be on hand to broadcast the game.
BC has now won three straight to improve to 8-12 overall and 4-7 in the CUNYAC; while Lehman falls to 11-9 overall and 5-6 in the conference.
The win also evens the season series between the two teams, as the Lightning defeated the Bulldogs on their home court, 73-62, back on January 4th.
Junior Jai Kellman led all scorers with 25 points, to go along with six assists and five rebounds, while sophomore Egzon Gjonbalaj added 23 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Classmate Jamel Gist chipped in with 17 points. The trio combined for nine of BC's 11 three pointers in the game to fuel the Bulldogs' offense. Junior Valon Djombalic grabbed 10 rebounds.
For Lehman, Kelvin Gil led the Lightning with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Stanley Stephens added 22 points. Jerrome Jones contributed with 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
The teams combined for three ties and two lead changes in the first 13 minutes of the game. After a basket from Jones that tied the game at 24 all with 7:53 left before the halftime break, the Bulldogs ran off to a 10-1 run to take a nine point advantage, 34-25, with 5:51 left in the first half. Gist led the run scoring six of the 10 points.
BC would eventually lead by as many as 14 twice, before taking a 12-point cushion, 42-30, into the locker room.
The Lightning would start the second half on an 8-2 spurt, led by three-pointers from Stephens and Edwin Diaz, to cut their deficit to six, 44-38, with 17:42 on the clock. The Bulldogs would answer with a 12-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 18, 56-38, with 13:05 remaining in the game. Gjonbalaj helped spark the run scoring six of the 12 points and coming up with a pair of big steals.
The Lightning would not go down without a fight; however, as Lehman cut its deficit down to three, 58-55, using a 17-2 run over the next six minutes. The Bulldogs would keep their composure and hold on to its lead, eventually going back up by double figures. BC used a pair of threes from Kellman and another trifecta from Gjonbalaj to keep the Lightning at arm's length and eventually go on to take home the hard fought nine-point win, 81-72.
Kellman and Gjonbalaj combined to score 35 of Brooklyn's 39 second half points to lead the Bulldogs to victory.
A big key to the BC win was turnovers, as the Bulldogs scored 23 points off of 22 Lehman Turnovers. The Bulldogs also pulled down 16 offensive rebounds that led to 23 second chance points.
For the game, Brooklyn shot 40.0% (28-70) from the field, including 35.5% (11-31) from three. The Bulldogs also shot 63.6% (14-22) from the free throw line.
The Lightning shot 42.0% (21-50) from the field, including 42.9% (6-14) from three. Lehman took full advantage from the charity stripe going 24-for-29 (82.8%) from the line.
Brooklyn will look to continue its solid play as of late and climb the conference standings, as the Bulldogs will travel to ARC Arena to take on the Bearcats of Baruch College in another big CUNYAC matchup this Monday, February 3rd. The game is slated for a 7:30 pm tip time. Live stats will be available for the game and BC Radiowill be on hand to broadcast the game.