BRONX, NY --- The Lehman College men's basketball team took just their second conference loss of the season on Wednesday night at the APEX, falling 73-71 to the visiting John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

The Lightning of Lehman (12-5/7-2 CUNYAC) were led by Olando Minott with a game-high 21 points. Minott went the distance for Lehman, playing all 40 minutes and pulling down seven rebounds while shooting five of ten from the floor. Edwin Pascual continued his strong play of late, scoring a career-high 15 points with four rebounds while dishing out four assists. Andrew Utate came off the bench to score 13 points with 11 of those coming in the second half, while John Brens filled the stat line with 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.  Collectively, the Lightning shot five of eight from behind the three-point arc.

The Bloodhounds of John Jay (3-15/2-7 CUNYAC) were led by Kiernan Hayes with 20 points and eight rebounds, making eight of his eleven shots. Luciano Cruz-Fernand came off the bench to score 15 points, while Jesse Higgins came up with 14 points and six assists.

Down 13 at halftime, the Lightning slowly clawed their way back into the game. The hosts used a 18-4 run to cut the deficit to one with 12:47 remaining, a stretch capped off by a layup from Utate. Try as they might, however, the Lightning were unable to completely close the gap. With 52 seconds remaining, Minott cut it to two at 72-70, but John Jay made their stops and free throws down the stretch, and a last gasp off-balance jumper at the buzzer fell short.

Lehman will be back on the court on Friday when they travel to Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York to take on the Cougars in an 8:00 p.m. contest.