Hunter nudges Lehman out of tourney

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It was déjà vu for the Lehman Lightning.

Lehman trailed by 13 in the second half to the Hunter Hawks when the Lightning went on a 10-0 run to cut the Hunter lead to just three with 16:25 remaining. The Lightning had beaten the Hawks twice this season by overcoming double-digit deficits in both games, and it looked like it was about to be a third.

But once the Hawks got the lead this game, they never let it go.

The third time was a charm for the Hawks (5) as they went on to defeat the Lightning (4), 54-57, in the quarterfinals of the CUNY championships to knock Lehman out of the tournament.

“Today was tough,” Lehman head coach Eric Harrison said. “We didn’t have our full team effort today, and it was disappointing because our whole team didn’t bring the energy that we knew we needed for the postseason.”

The Lightning came out flat to start the game. They did not score for the first seven minutes and had just three points at the halfway mark of the first half. 

Lehman scored just 13 first half points, its lowest total in a half all season, shooting just 5-28 (17.9 percent) as it trailed by 10. 

Lehman’s Karrin Walker made sure the second half would be a different story. With the Lightning down eight with 17 minutes left, Walker made a steal on the defensive end and sprinted for a fast-break layup, falling to the floor and screaming out of excitement on her way up.

The next play down, Amani Lightborne missed a mid-range jumper when Walker fought for the offensive rebound and made a layup while getting fouled by Joey Chan. Lehman’s 10-0 run would cut the Hunter deficit to just three points.

‘Riled up’

Walker scored nine of her team’s first 12 points in the second half, and 18 of her 23 total points also in the second half.

“I just wanted to get my team riled up,” Walker, who finished with 13 rebounds, said of her second-half energy. “I just wanted them to get some intensity or whatever, and I felt me being the captain, I could spark that for them.”

But whenever Lehman looked poised to make a run, Hunter’s Kristen Markoe was there to answer. 

When Amely Del Rosario knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to spark a 5-0 run and bring Lehman within one point with 11:46 remaining, Markoe answered the next possession by knocking down a 3-pointer to quiet the crowd.

After Lightborne knocked down a triple to bring Lehman within three with 9:54 left, Markoe made another 3-pointer from the left wing.

Lehman would cut the deficit to one, but could never get over the hump. The Lightning trailed by as many as 12 with 6:54 remaining, but an 8-0 run would keep them alive. However, just when it seemed like the Lightning would strike, Markoe hit another jumper to extend the lead back to six.

Lehman would get one last chance to tie the game with three seconds left, but failed to get a shot up as Hunter would go on to advance.

“It’s tough,” said junior Jennifer Navarro, who finished with 14 points. “Coach called the play [on the final possession], and it wasn’t run completely. It was going to work, but it’s a tough loss.”

“People are very down,” Harrison said. “It was one of those things where they wanted to win, but they didn’t come with the energy.” 

Harrison is just one win away from tying the CUNYAC all-time coaching wins record. The Lightning will return all of its players next season.

“We should come back with some momentum,” Walker said. “We should come back wanting to get better, wanting to get stronger and wanting to beat this team in the first round.”

Men’s basketball

Lehman men win a nail biter 

The Lightning, seeded third in the  CUNY Championship Tournament  defeated sixth-seeded Hunter, 79-77 after freshman John Brens hit two free throws to give Lehman a two-point lead with seven seconds left. Senior Jonathan Greenfield led the way with 14 points on 50 percent shooting and added nine rebounds.

Lehman will advance to play Brooklyn College (2) in the CUNYAC semifinals at the City College of New York. The two teams have split the two meetings with each other this season.

Lehman Lightning, Hunter Hawks, CUNY, Eric Harrison, Karrin Walker, Amani Lightborne, Kristen Markoe, Amely Del Rosario, Jennifer Navarro, John Brens, Jonathan Greenfield, Brooklyn College, City College of New York

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