BRONX, N.Y. – The #3 Lehman College men's basketball team won a thrilling CUNY Athletic Conference Quarterfinal game, over #6 Hunter College, 79-77, in the APEX Main Gym on Sunday afternoon. The Lightning will battle #2 Brooklyn College in the CUNYAC Semifinals, in the Nat Holman Gym on the campus of the City College of New York, on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. The Bulldogs defeated #7 John Jay on Sunday afternoon.

Senior guard Jonathan Greenfield (Hartford, Conn./Windsor) was named the U.S. Army ROTC Player of the Game. The Hartford resident scored 14 points, shot 50 percent from the field, grabbed nine rebounds, and forced two steals.

Lehman (18-8) and Hunter (9-17) were tied at 77 in the closing seconds. With Lehman in possession of the ball, freshman guard John Brens (Washington Heights, N.Y./All Hallows) was able to draw a foul, while driving to the basket. He successfully converted both free throws to give Lehman a narrow 79-77 lead, with seven seconds remaining. Hunter had one last chance to either tie or win the game, but Lehman's defense forced Matt Franks to shoot a three-pointer that went wide of the rim, as the buzzer sounded, sending the Lightning to the Conference Semifinals for the second year in a row.

"It was a great win over a very tough Hunter team," Lightning head coach Steve Schulman said. "We made the plays when we needed to make them. A game like this is what playoff basketball is all about."

Earlier in the second half, Lehman had a more comfortable lead, as junior forwardChaun Miller (Brooklyn, N.Y./Eleanor Roosevelt) fed the ball to classmate Olando Minott (Bronx, N.Y./Samuel Gompers) who tallied a jump shot to give the Lightning their largest lead of the game, 60-48, with 13:08 remaining in regulation.

The Hawks would respond by scoring 21 of the game's next 27 points, in a span of 7:06, to take a 69-66 lead, with just over five minutes remaining. Junior forwardJerrome Jones (Bronx, N.Y./Mount Vernon) immediately answered by nailing a jump shot to pull the home team within one. On Hunter's next possession, Jones intercepted the ball and threw it to freshman guard Andrew Utate (Washington Heights, N.Y./Mount Saint Michael Academy), who was sprinting down the floor, and successfully converted a fast break layup to help Lehman regain the lead, 70-69, with 4:09 to go.

The Lightning continued to play with high energy on both sides of the floor, as Minott stole the ball, drove down the lane, and scored a basket while being fouled. He converted the free throw to complete the three-point play, and extend Lehman's lead to 73-69, with 3:45 remaining. Greenfield scored a two-point field goal to make the score 77-71 in favor of Lehman, with 2:33 left to play.

Although Hunter was able to tie the game at 77, Brens' heroics from the free throw line in the closing seconds helped the Lightning earn the first round win.

In the first half, Lehman trailed by as many as six, but the home team scored the next six points, capped off by two free throws from Brens, to tie the game at 32, with 3:54 left to play in the opening stanza. With the Lightning down 40-38, Miller successfully converted a jump shot to tie the game at 40, and that would be the score at halftime. That set the stage for a dramatic second half, as Lehman went on to win a thriller, 79-77.

The Lightning had a very balanced scoring attack, with five players reaching double-figures in points. Brens and Miller each scored 14 points, along with Greenfield. Minott scored 11, while Jones added 10. Miller grabbed eight rebounds and had three assists, while Brens, Jones, and Minott dished out just as many.

Utate just missed the double-digit mark with nine points, while junior forwardOlusegun Williams (Bronx, N.Y./DeWitt Clinton) tallied four points and three rebounds. Sophomore forward Astrit Krasniqi (New York, N.Y./St. Agnes Boys) added three points of his own.

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