BRONX, NY --- (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) SUNY Old Westbury men's basketball held on to beat host Lehman College Lightning (4-6) Saturday afternoon in the consolation game of the CUNYAC Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament with a 75-59 triumph from APEX Arena to give head coach Bernard Tomlin his 400th-career win. Tomlin has a 400-335 career record in 28 seasons and has given Old Westbury 274 wins and a pair of Skyline Conference Championships in 18th seasons on campus. The Panthers (4-5) have won three straight against Lehman dating back to the 2011-12 campaign.
Old Westbury took an early advantage with Pedro Marquez, Justin Alleyne-Washington and Chase Johnson connecting from deep in addition to Alan McDonald scoring five points to build a 10-point lead (14-4) 4:45 in. After Dennis Phillips trimmed Lehman's deficit to eight (16-8), McDonald sank five more points to extend Old Westbury's cushion to half-high 15 (23-8) with 11:58 remaining in the half. Lehman battled to pull within eight points (29-21) after Jaquan Strong knocked down a free throw to ignite a 13-6 run with 5:48 left. Shakirro Samuels sank a pair of free throws to bring Old Westbury's lead back to 10 (31-21) before Miguel Haboosh landed two triples as part of Lehman's 10-2 spurt over the final 4:37 to trail 33-31 heading into intermission.
The Panthers opened strong with four-unanswered points from Alleyne-Washington and McDonald to prompt a quick Lehman timeout just 55 seconds into second-half play. William Feldman's trey followed by Isaiah Geathers' three-point play tied the game at 37 for Lehman with 17:14 showing on the clock. Stanley Baker sparked a 13-0 run with a layup at 16:53 to push Old Westbury's lead back up to double-digits (50-37). After being held scoreless over a stretch of 6:29, Haboosh dropped in a pair of layups and Xavier Boyd hit back-to-back triples to make it a nine-point game (56-47) with 7:54 left. McDonald answered with six-straight points to stretch Old Westbury's lead back to 15 (62-47) at 6:39. Old Westbury played with a double-digit lead for the final 7:33 and extended the margin to a game-high 20 points (69-49) with 4:07 remaining.
McDonald led all scorers with 23 points (9-of-15 FG, 2-of-4 3PG) to go with seven rebounds, three assists and one steal. Marquez followed with 18 points (5-of-11 FG, 7-of-8 FT) and four assists. Alleyne-Washington, who was named to the All-CUNYAC Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament Team, scored 15 points (6-of-8 FG, 3-of-5 3FG) and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds to post his third-career double-double.
Haboosh finished with 15 points (5-of-13 FG), seven rebounds and four assists to pace Lehman. Boyd chipped in 10 points while Geathers pulled down nine boards.
Old Westbury finished the afternoon shooting 45.8 percent (27-of-59) from the field, 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from beyond the arc and 65 percent (13-of-20) from the free-throw line. Lehman connected on 32.8 percent (21-of-64) from the field, 31 percent (9-of-29) from three-point territory and 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the charity stripe. The Lightning held a +4 rebound margin (42-38) while scoring 12 second-chance points off 13 offensive boards. Lehman outplayed Old Westbury in steals (5-4) and bench points (15-9) and scored 11 points off 12 Panther turnovers. Old Westbury held the edge in assists (13-12) and points in the paint (26-12).
COLLEGE OF MOUNT SAINT VINCENT DOLPHINS UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury (2-2 Skyline) returns home to open the 2019 calendar year next Thursday (Jan. 3) with a Skyline Conference showdown against the College of Mount Saint Vincent Dolphins (4-5, 3-2 Skyline) at 7 p.m. inside Clark Athletic Center. The Panthers are 6-1 at home versus Mount Saint Vincent since 2011-12.
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