NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team rallied from a halftime deficit with a strong second half to defeat Lehman College, 78-69 in a non-conference encounter in The Nest on Saturday afternoon.

Deivone Tanksley (Hartford, Conn.) scored all 12 of his points in the second half while also collecting six rebounds on the day. Ta'zhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) led the Falcons with 19 points and eight assists. 

Malcolm Duncanson (West Haven, Conn.) finished with 10 points and Jayquan Kirkland (Stratford, Conn.) hit three three-pointers and scorerd 11 points off the bench.

It was the second straight win for Albertus.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 78 | Lehman 69

RECORDS: Albertus (4-7) | Lehman (6-4)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Lehman scored the opening basket, Ray Ford, Jr. (Jersey City, N.J.) hit a three follwed by a layup from Daniels to put Albertus up, 5-2.
• Albertus went up 11-6 later on in the first half thanks to a three from Daniels and a jumper from Kirkland.
• Over the next nine minutes, the two teams then traded baskets before Albertus went on a 9-2 run capped off by a pair of free throws by Daniels at 4:12 that propelled Albertus to a 31-26 lead. Kirkland kick-started the scoring stretch with a three-pointer to put the Falcons up by one, followed by a layup by Duncanson with assists by Daniels on both possessions. Daniels then followed with a basket of his own before his free throws.
• Lehman closed out the opening stanza with a 12-3 scoring run, ignited by a three-pointer by Kahleem Jennings as the Lightning went into the locker room with a 38-34 advantage.
• Albertus went on a 9-2 over the first four minutes of the second half to regain the lead, 43-40, off six points by Avery Hinnant (Naugatuck, Conn.) and a three-point baseket by Kirkland.
• Lehman's Kai Parris forced a turnover leading to a dunk to put Lehman up 44-43 at 14:54, but Daniels reclaimed the lead with a two-pointer and a pair of free throws on consecutive possesions by the Falcons.
• Lehman took a 54-50 lead at the halfway mark of the second half after hitting six free throws as part of an 8-3 run. The Falcons retaliated with five made free throws with two from Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) and three from Tanksley to give Albertus the 55-54 advantage.
• The Lightning took a 61-58 lead after a jumper from Parris, but the Falcons scored the next six points. First, Tanksley grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss and made the put back to make it a one-point game. After a miss by Lehman on the subsequent possession, Tahijj Hunter (Mount Laurel, N.J.) took a feed from Ford Jr. to give Albertus the 62-61 lead with 3:38 left. Albertus forced a turnover from the Lightning and a jumper from Tanksley put Albertus up by three. On the next possession, Parris tied up the game again with a three with three minutes left to make it a 64-64 game.
• The two teams then traded baskets to make it a 66-66 game. Tanksley followed with a free throw to put Albertus back up by one. Albertus kept possession after the second free throw was missed, and Crawford cashed in with a layup while getting fouled. He made the and-one, putting the Falcons up, 70-66 with 1:15 left.
• Albertus hit eight free throws down the stretch to hold on to the victory.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

36.5 FG% | 31.6 3PT% | 66.7 FT% 

Lehman

44.8 FG% | 25.0 3PT% | 70.0 FT% 

LEADERS

Albertus

Ta'zhon Daniels 19 Points | 6-8 FT | 8 Assists | 3 Rebounds | 1 Steal

Deivone Tanksley 12 Points | 6 Rebounds | 6-9 FT | 1 Steal

Jayquan Kirkland 11 Points | 3-5 3PT | 2 Rebounds | 1 Steal | 1 Block

Malcolm Duncanson 10 Points | 1 Rebound | 1 Assist | 1 Block

Lehman

Kai Parris 22 Points | 1-1 3PT | 3-4 FT | 13 Rebounds | 2 Steals | 1 Assist | 1 Block

Kahleem Jennings 10 Points | 3-4 FT | 6 Rebounds | 3 Steals | 2 Steals | 1 Block

NOTEWORTHY

• There were 12 ties and 23 lead changes.
• Albertus had the advantage in points off turnovers (24-7), bench points (24-9), fastbreak points (21-15) and second chance points (15-11).
• The five blocks by the Falcons tied their season-high.

UP NEXT

Albertus opens the 2025 year against Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponent Colby-Sawyer on January 4 at 3 p.m. in The Nest.