JAMAICA, N.Y. – The York College men's basketball team played their home opener on Tuesday night against Lehman College, beating the Lightning by a final score of 79-67.

The Cardinals took an early lead, as Cyril Reid scored a quick eight points, including two 3-pointers, giving his team an 11-6 advantage. Two good tip-ins from Lehman's Edwin Diaz and Chaun Miller brought the score to 13-12 with York leading, but that would be the closest the Lightning would get to tying the score in the half.

York would make two 3-pointers from Ryan St. John and Omar St. John, with a jumper from Lehman's Olando Minott in between, to give the Cardinals some breathing room with 10:56 remaining in the half. Lehman would again cut the deficit to one point, bringing the score to 19-18, but York would again break away a bit with layups from Du'Quan Lawson and Reid.

The final eight minutes of the half was a back and forth battle, as each team matched each other point for point. A Lawson free throw would bring the score to 35-30 just before halftime.

Reid led the Cardinals with 12 points and 8 rebounds, with Omar St. John adding 7 points as well. The Lightning were led by Jonathan Greenfield, who collected 12 points for his squad.

Reid continued his dominance early in the second half, as he scored five straight points in a 7-0 run to bring York's lead to 44-34 with 16:59 left in the game. With the deficit being 10 points, the Lightning gained some momentum. Lehman chipped away, going on an 11-2 run to bring the score to 46-45 with just over nine minutes left to play.

The Cardinals needed to stop Lehman's attack, and Omar St. John answered the call. After a layup and a slam dunk that electrified the home crowd, York started getting all the momentum back. York went on a 15-2 run, with 8 points coming from Omar St. John, giving the Cardinals a commanding 61-47 lead with 5:15 left in the game.

The Lightning couldn't bounce back as the Cardinals ran away with a 79-67 win.

Omar St. John ended the game with 17 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Reid collected a double-double in the game, as he ended with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Lawson ended the game totaling 5 assists in the win. Greenfield led the Lightning with 17 points and Miller collected 10 rebounds.

York had the lead from start to finish, never letting the Lightning even tie the game. The Cardinal bench played a major part in this win, as they scored 28 of the 78 total points. The Lightning only managed to get 12 points from their bench.

With the win, York (6-2, 3-0 CUNYAC) stays atop the CUNYAC standings while Lehman (5-2, 2-1 CUNYAC) falls a bit.
The Cardinals will be back in action on Friday, December 12th, when they travel to Baruch in their third straight CUNYAC matchup.