Bears Struck Down By Lehman Lightning

(BRONX, NY)  The St. Joseph's Men's Basketball team dropped its second straight game losing 73-58 in a non-conference matchup against Lehman College at the APEX Center in the Bronx on Monday night.

The Bears fell behind early, down 9-2 in the first two minutes prompting a timeout from Coach Joseph Cocozello.  However, the Lightning continued to extend their lead into a 44-25 halftime advantage.  Lehman continued their strong play throughout the second period, leading by as many as 24, never relinquishing the lead to close out the 73-58 victory.  St. Joseph's was plagued by too many turnovers, committing 27 for the game which Lehman converted into 24 points.  Cocozello commented after the game, "It's very difficult to compete at a high level when you commit that many turnovers."

Justin Gist (Brooklyn, NY / Newsome) led the Bears for the third straight game with 15 points, grabbing three boards and dishing out two.  Freshman Roy Wickstrom (Staten Island / St. Peter's) added 7 points and had four rebounds.  Freshman Antoine Forehand(New York, NY / Rice) also added 7 points and grabbed three boards and three steals.  Lehman was led by Xavier Garvin and Duane Rhoden who both netted 19 points.  Chukwuma Ndukewe also grabbed 10 boards in the win.

St. Joseph's falls to 2-4 and Lehman improves to 5-3.  The Bears return to action at home at Brooklyn Technical High School on Saturday afternoon to face Southern Vermont College in the first game of the "Holiday Hoops Doubleheader."  Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 PM to be followed by the Lady Bears facing Southern Vermont.