Boxscore

PIKE CREEK, Del. - Freshman Marcus Porter led Goldey-Beacom with game-highs of 22 points and eight rebounds, but the Lightning were bested by Bridgeport, 75-68 in their season home opener at the Jones Center.

GBC's school-record 12-game home winning streak came to close out the 2010-11 season came to an end in the first home game of the 2011-12 season as the Lightning  fell to 1-3 on the season. Bridgeport, a member of the East Coast Conference, improved to 3-2 overall. This marked the first meeting between these two schools since Jan. 14, 2008, which the Lightning won, 76-64.

Porter shot 10-of-21 from the floor (1-of-3 from long-range, 1-of-2 FT) to lead three Lightning scorers in double-figures. Graduate student guard Ido Yehuda posted 12 points and two assists and senior forward Tariq Uqdah scored 10 points and pulled down seven boards.

Bridgeport, which came in averaging nearly 83 points per-game, shot a scorching 52-percent (31-of-60) from the field for the evening while the Lightning made 26-of-64 (41-percent). The Purple Knights also held a 41-36 rebounding advantage, outscored GBC in the paint 44-20, and doubled-up the Lightning in second-chance points, 16-8.

The two teams went back and forth early on and were deadlocked in the fifth tie of the game at 14-apiece when Hakeem Rodriguez sent shockwaves throughout the gym with the first dunk of the year at the Jones Center. That dunk would put the Purple Knights ahead to stay from that point on. A three-pointer by sophomore guard A.J. Picard and two buckets by Porter helped keep the Lightning in striking distance, but an 11-5 charge by the Knights in the final three-and-a-half minutes transformed a narrow 23-21 lead into a comfortable 34-26 halftime margin.

Out of the intermission, Bridgeport scored six of the first nine points of the second half to up its lead to 11. The visitors would twice lead by as many as 18 (60-42, 62-44) before an 8-0 surge by the Lightning, highlighted by an electifying Porter dunk, closed the gap to 10, 62-52, with 4:31 left to play. After the Knights upped their lead back to 15, the Lightning used a 7-0 run, culminating in a Curtis Hopkins three-pointer, to pull within eight, 69-61 at the 1:52 mark. Eion Lewis calmly sank a pair of free-throws and later converted a layup off a pass by Darian David to put Bridgeport up 74-61. The Lightning battled back with a 7-0 spell to cut the deficit to six after a layup by Jordan Brooks with 20 seconds left in regulation, but by then it was too little too late. Dante Menter made 1-of-2 from the line to give Bridgeport the seven-point victory, 75-68.

The Lightning are back in action on Tues. night, Nov. 29 when they travel to Shippensburg University to take on the Red Raiders at 7 p.m.