Men's Basketball Suffers Overtime Loss to Lehman

When and Where:

December 14, 2022 - Bronx, NY 

Records:

St. Joseph's (L.I.), 3-6, Lehman College, 7-4 

Results:

The St. Joseph's University (L.I.) men's basketball team suffered a 79-77 overtime non-conference loss at Lehman College on Wednesday evening.

Top performers:

• Junior Xavier Allen led all players with 26 points, shooting 5-for-8 from three-point range, and completed the double-double with a game-best 10 rebounds
• Freshman Justin Turner finished with a season-high 20 points going 6-for-11 from the field while dishing seven assists
• Junior Spencer Malloy rounded out SJLI's top scorers with 15 points and added six boards and four assists
• Lehman's Isaiah Geathers turned in a 24-point performance with Will Feldman pitching in with 18 points and seven rebounds 

How it happened:

• St. Joseph's took an early lead claiming the first eight points of the game
• A pair of free throws from junior Ryan McNeely gave the Golden Eagles a double-digit lead at the 12:29 mark
• A Malloy layup with 7:45 on the clock gave SJLI their largest lead of the night, 26-9
• Lehman responded with 13 unanswered points over the next four minutes to cut the deficit to just four, 26-22 
• The teams went back and forth in the final minutes of the first half before a three from Allen gave the Golden Eagles a 35-33 lead heading into the break
• St. Joseph's largest margin, 54-48, of the second half, came about midway through the frame, but a 9-2 Lehman run put the Lightning ahead 58-56 with less than six minutes to play
• The hosts led by as many as eight, 64-56, but back-to-back triples from Allen inched the Golden Eagles to within two, 64-62
• Down by two, 67-65, with just four seconds on the clock, Allen drew a foul and sank both free throws to send the game into overtime at 67 apiece.
• St. Joseph's scored first and led for the majority of the overtime period, but a three from Lehman's Will Feldman with 18 seconds on the clock put the hosts ahead 78-77 before a free throw from Mo Idrissou secured the 79-77 victory 

Notes: 

• St. Joseph's shot 42.6% from the field, while Lehman finished the game with a 38.6% shooting percentage
• LC went 9-for-27 from three-point territory on the game, while the Golden Eagles shot 12-for-27 for a 44.4% percentage from beyond the arc
• SJLI outrebounded the Lightning 45-40
• The game saw nine lead changes with Golden Eagles holding an advantage for 33:38 with Lehman ahead for 7:45 

Next up, the Golden Eagles return to the Danzi Center to host John Jay College for a non-conference match-up on Tuesday, December 28 at 4:00 pm.