Men's Basketball Drops Coaches vs. Cancer Opener at Lehman

Bronx, NY| Despite a 28-point performance from senior Frank Basile, the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team dropped an 82-66 decision to host Lehman College in the first round of the CUNY Coaches vs. Cancer tournament on Saturday afternoon. 

The loss sends the Golden Eagles to 3-4 overall on the year as the Lightning improve to 5-5. SJC will face McDaniel in the consolation game at 3:00 pm on Sunday afternoon while Lehman advances to face Vassar College in the final.

Basile's 28 points were a game-high and came off 9-for-25 shooting from the field. The guard also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to record his third double-double of the season.

Senior Doug Niblock shot 7-for-14 from the field, scored 15 points and dished out a team-high six assists. Sophomore Matthew Hirdt contributed nine points off the bench.

Lehman was paced by Gian Batista, who shot 8-for-11 from the floor, posted a team-best 21 points and dished out a game-high 10 assists.

Down 34-19 with 7:08 left to play in the first half, SJC scored 18-straight points and took a 37-34 lead at 1:33 before heading into the break up 41-39. Lehman would retake the lead 5:52 into the second period (50-49) and from there held off the guests and cruised to an 82-66 victory.

Overall, Lehman was the better shooting team from the floor (52.3% to 36.4%) and from beyond the arc (35.5% to 25.6%). SJC held a 15-6 advantage in bench points but was outscored 44-18 in the paint.