#4 LEHMAN TOPS #5 CITY TECH IN OVERTIME, 62-58
The #4/#5 quarterfinal game of the 2006 CUNYAC / Con Edison Men’s Basketball Championship played at the College of Staten Island, went beyond expectations, and into overtime actually, before higher seeded Lehman College could knock out the defending champions, NYC College of Technology, 62-58. It was ‘revenge’ for the Lightning for City Tech’s regular season 80-77 double overtime win back on January 21st, in a matchup of CUNYAC’s last two Tournament winners.
Lehman (14-11, 9-4 CUNYAC) needed everyone of their 27 rebound advantage (64-37 advantage) to keep down the pesky Yellow Jackets (8-18), as both teams held their opponents to very low shooting percentages (City Tech shot 31%, Lehman 28%).
“I credit City Tech for their work ethic, they made us earn every point today,” said Lehman head coach Steve Schulman, now in his sixth season. “They limited Willy Vargas’ effectiveness, while making Sekani [Francis] fight really hard to get his shots off.”
Immediately out of halftime, Yellow Jacket junior guard Kareem Hanley (Canarsie / Brooklyn, NY) hit his second three-pointer of the game (he ended up with four) to tie the game for the first time at 25-25, and after a 27-27 tie, Lehman stormed out on a 9-0 run, capped by a three-point play by sophomore guard Rafael Bueno (Monroe Woodbury / Bronx, NY). The lead was extended to as many as 11 points with 14:23 remaining in the game on an and-one by Francis, the two-time CUNYAC Player of the Year. He finished with 18 points and a game-high 17 rebounds to lead the Lightning, whose other all-star, Vargas, a senior guard (from DeWitt Clinton / Bronx, NY) was held to seven points, seven assists and eight turnovers. He averages 15.9 points and 5.4 assists a game.
But the determined Yellow Jackets immediately embarked on a 14-3 run over the next eight minutes to tie the back at 44-44 with just under five minutes left. Lehman moved a one-point lead to three (50-47) with 0:45 remaining on a layup by junior center Verayne Townsend (John Jay / Brooklyn, NY), but City Tech senior forward Danul Cabbagestalk (John Adams / Brooklyn, NY) hit a three-pointer (only his fifth of the season) with 0:12 left to tie the game at 50-50. Lehman’s Bueno actually turned the ball over on the inbounds following a timeout, giving City Tech a chance to tie, but freshman guard Jamaal Hall’s (Benjamin Banneker / Brooklyn, NY) trey try was off the mark. Hall had scored all of his game-high 19 points in the second stanza.
In the extra session, City Tech only managed to get the lead once on a Hanley three-pointer 1:36 into the period, but Lehman’s ability to make their free throws (7-9 in the second period, 7-8 in overtime) locked the game up for the 2004 champions.
Lehman freshman guard Duane Rhoden (DeWitt Clinton / Bronx, NY) had a solid first CUNYAC Tournament with 16 points (8 in each half) and nine rebounds, while helping keep City Tech’s top two scorers, junior forward Otis Saylee (Seward Park / New York, NY) and senor guard Clyde Forteau (St. Raymond’s / Bronx, NY) to a combined 11 points. Saylee (averages 16.1) still grabbed a team-high 13 boards, and Forteau had four points and six assists before fouling out in his final game for the Yellow Jackets.