BRONX, N.Y. - The Lehman College men's basketball team earned a key CUNY Athletic Conference victory, over the College of Staten Island, 95-73, in the APEX Main Gym, on Friday evening. The Lightning outscored the Dolphins, 55-37 in the second half, after only leading by four at halftime.
Junior guard Olando Minott (Bronx, N.Y./Samuel Gompers) led the way for the Lightning (9-5, 4-2 CUNYAC) with a team-high 25 points, with six assists, four rebounds, and four steals. Senior guardJonathan Greenfield (Hartford, Conn./Windsor) tallied 23 points, with five rebounds, and three assists.
In the beginning of the second half, Lehman was clinging to a one-point lead, but would change the course of the game by scoring the next nine points, in a span of 1:36, to extend their lead to 50-40, with 16:15 remaining in regulation. Greenfield scored five of those points by tallying a three-point shot and a layup in back-to-back possessions. With 14:51 left to play, Greenfield nailed a jump shot to put Lehman up, 54-44. Staten Island (7-5, 4-2 CUNYAC) never cut the deficit to single-digits for the remainder of the game. The Lightning continued to build their lead, as a layup from junior forward Jerrome Jones (Bronx, N.Y./Mount Vernon) gave Lehman a 23-point lead, its largest of the game, with just over a minute remaining. The Lightning ended up winning the game, 95-73.
The first half was a lot tighter. The Dolphins had an early 15-14 lead, but a layup from Minott gave the home team the lead for good, 16-15, with 11:16 left to play in the opening stanza. With the score 18-17, in favor of Lehman, junior forward Chaun Miller (Brooklyn, N.Y./Eleanor Roosevelt) successfully laid the ball up and in, while being fouled. He hit the free throw to complete the three-point play and extended the Lightning's lead to 21-17, with 9:58 left to play in the opening half. Both teams went into intermission with Lehman up, 40-36. The Lightning took complete control of the second half and cruised to their fourth conference victory of the season.
Jones scored 16 points, while Miller added 11 with eight rebounds. Senior guard Scott Arias (New York, N.Y./Rice) produced nine points, and sophomore forward Astrit Krasniqi (New York, N.Y./St. Agnes Boys) scored five and grabbed four rebounds.
The Lightning will hit the road for their final non-conference game of the season, at Rutgers-Camden, on Monday, at 6:00 p.m.
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