NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Lehman College men's basketball team picked up its fifth consecutive victory by defeating the City College of New York, 71-66, in CUNY Athletic Conference action on Friday evening. The Lightning now move into a tie with Brooklyn College for second place in the latest CUNYAC standings.  

In the first half, Lehman (14-7, 9-3 CUNYAC) trailed 20-16, but would answer by scoring the game's next 11 points, highlighted by three consecutive jump shots from senior guard Jonathan Greenfield, to put Lehman up, 27-20, with 5:07 remaining in the first half. 

After a CCNY (6-13, 1-11 CUNYAC) two-point field goal ended Lehman's run, Greenfield kept his going by nailing a three-point basket to extend the Lightning's lead to 30-22, with 3:37 left in the opening half. With one second until intermission, junior guard Olando Minott (Bronx, N.Y./Samuel Gompers) laid the ball up and in, as both teams went into the break with the Lightning up 37-27.

In the late stages of the second stanza, CCNY rallied to pull within one, 65-64, with 1:07 remaining. Junior forward Chaun Miller (Brooklyn, N.Y./Eleanor Roosevelt) grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed shot and laid the ball up and in, to give Lehman a three-point advantage, with 45 seconds remaining. 

CCNY had the ball, down 69-66, with a chance to tie the game. The Beavers opted to go for a quick two-pointer but missed the layup and the ball went out of bounds. With Lehman gaining possession, Greenfield was fouled immediately. He hit two free throws to ice the game. Lehman went on to win by a final score of 71-66.

"I'm so proud of the guys tonight," Lightning head coach Steve Schulman said. "We stuck together, handled adversity, and we came out on top in a difficult game. "

Greenfield had a game-high 17 points with six rebounds. Minott tallied 16 points with seven rebounds, five steals, and four assists. Miller added 15 points and eight rebounds, while junior forward Jerrome Jones (Bronx, N.Y./Mount Vernon) scored nine points, grabbed nine boards, and dished out four assists. Freshman guard Andrew Utate (Washington Heights, N.Y./Mount Saint Michael Academy) scored 10 points, while classmate John Brens had a team-high five assists. 

Lehman will travel to Baruch College to battle the Bearcats, who are undefeated in CUNYAC play, on Thursday. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

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