New York, NY – Senior forward Gerard Ciarleglio (Bradenton, FL/Cardinal Mooney) scored 17 points as the Hawks regain their spot atop the CUNY Athletic Conference North Division with a 79-70 win over Lehman College on Friday evening in men's basketball action at the Hunter Sportsplex.

Hunter now improves to 5-2 in the conference and have swept their season series with the Lightning. Lehman drops to fourth place with a 3-5 conference and 7-11 overall record.

Hunter held the advantage most of the game, including a six point lead at halftime, and would stretch it to15 points in the second half. Following a short fun by Lehman, which cut the lead to six with 1:14 left, Hunter iced the game at the free-throw line, sinking 6-of-6 including four from senior guard Marlon Smith (Bronx, NY/Archbishop Molloy) who finished 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. Smith would conclude the game with a team high 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Junior forward Frantz Millien (Rockland, NY/North Rockland) added 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Hunter.

Junior guard Duane Rhoden (Bronx, NY/DeWitt Clinton) scored a game high 19 points for the Lightning and also had nine boards and five assists, while senior forward Nicholas Watson (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Spellman) cotinruted 18 points and eight rebounds.

The Hawks return to action on Monday, January 21 when they host Richard Stockton for a 3:00 p.m. non-conference matchup at the Hunter Sportsplex.