Bronx, NY - Trailing by 37-26 to Lehman, the defending CUNYAC champions, the John Jay men's basketball team outscored the Lightning, 33-17, over a 13:34 span to get within two, 65-63, but couldn't complete the comeback attempt as the Bloodhounds dropped a 71-66 road decision on Tuesday evening to conclude the regular season.

With the outcome, the Bloodhounds finish the season at 9-16 and 7-7 in league play, while the Lightning conclude the year at 19-6 and a perfect 14-0. Lehman will be the No. 1 seed, followed by Brooklyn, which finished at 11-14 and 9-5 in the conference. The No. 3 seed will be Baruch, who edged out York for the seeding, as both teams finished the conference slate at 8-6, while CCNY will be the No. 6 seed.

John Jay will travel to York for the CUNYAC quarterfinals on Saturday with a time to be announced.

Three Bloodhounds finished in double-figures, led by Keyshawn Miller, who netted 17 points on 6 of 17 shooting from the field. The Yonkers, NY native grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds while dishing out three assists in 40 minutes of play. Jamir Stewart added 15 points on 5 of 12 shooting display while grabbing six rebounds and recording two steals in the contest. Alsseny Diallo scored ten points on 3 of 8 shooting while corralling seven rebounds in 31 minutes.

Lehman had a balanced scoring attack, with five players scoring in double-figures, led by Kofi Mends, who led the way with 14 points while converting on 4 of 6 from the floor and 2 of 3 from the outside. Tyler Harts added 13 points on 6 of 10 shooting while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three assists.

Ricardo Dixon notched a double-double for Lehman, concluding the contest with 11 points and 13 rebounds, 11 of which came on the defensive end. Amar Ndiaye and Kesean Tracey each had ten points, while Ndiaye added eight rebounds and three blocks. Tracey dished out a team-high seven helpers and six rebounds in the win. 

Amare Jordan spearheaded the Bloodhound offense early, scoring the first six points for the Bloodhounds on a pair of three-pointers, giving the visitors a 6-5 lead. From that point, the Lightning used a 20-6 run to go up 25-9 following a three-pointer from Mends as Lehman converted on 9 of 12 from the field during the run.

John Jay outscored Lehman, 14-11, over the next nine minutes of the first half, cutting the deficit down to ten, 36-26, following a Diallo three-pointer off the feed from Aidony Nivar. Ndiaye hit one of two from the free throw line as Lehman took a 37-26 lead into the break. 

John Jay shot 36.4 percent in the opening 20 minutes while Lehman converted on 45.9 percent from the field. The Bloodhounds three-point shooting kept them close, as they hit on 31.0 percent from the outside to Lehman's 21.4 shooting (3 of 14).

The Lightning commenced the second half on an 11-2 burst, increasing its lead to 48-28 as Harts completed the three-point play from the charity stripe. The Bloodhounds seized control of the tempo, building a 33-15 run of its own over a 12:24 stretch that saw Lehman's 20-point lead diminish to just two, 63-61, following an Adrian Kopec layup off the feed from Diallo. Mends hit a pair from the line to stop the run a bit, but on the ensuing John Jay possession, Miller was able to soar to the rim for two, making it a two-point contest again with 1:36 showing on the game clock.

Ndiaye muscled in two as Lehman took a 67-63 lead on their next possession. With under a minute to go, Miller was fouled and hit the backend of the two-shot foul, as John Jay called for time, trailing 67-64, with 57 seconds remaining in regulation.

On Lehman's next drive, Mends was able to bank home a layup from Tracey, as the lead moved back up to five, 69-64. Miller had a chance to make it a single-possession contest, but misfired on a three-point chance that was chased down by Ndiaye, who was promptly fouled by Nivar. 

Ndiaye missed the one-and-one chance, as Diallo pulled in the rebound, but an inadvertent turnover by Miller gave possession back to Lehman with just 18 seconds left. Kopec fouled Tracey on the next play, as he made both chances, pushing the lead to seven.

With just ten seconds left, Stewart hoisted a three-pointer but missed. The B aldwin, NY native chased down the loose ball and made the layup, as the Bloodhounds still had a chance, down five, 71-66, and called for time.

John Jay fouled Mends coming out of the short recess. Mends missed the chance as Kopec collected the rebound and out letted the ball to Nivar, who missed on a three-pointer as time expired, giving Lehman the victory on the final day of the regular season.

For the game, the Bloodhound shot 36.4 percent from the field and 31.0 percent from beyond the arc. Lehman shot an efficient 45.9 percent from the floor while being held to just 21.4 percent from the outside (3 of 14).