BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Riding a season-high seven-game winning streak, the Lehigh men’s basketball team heads to Bucknell on Wednesday eying its second Patriot League Championship in the last three seasons. The title game features each of the last two league champs as the Mountain Hawks (25-7) won it in 2009-10 before the Bison (24-8) captured the 2010-11 title. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. live on CBS Sports Network.
Be sure to stay updated on the Mountain Hawks’ trek to Bucknell via the Lehigh Men’s Basketball Facebook Page. Check back for continued behind-the-scenes posts as the team vies for its second Patriot League Championship in the last three seasons.
Lehigh has already shattered its previous school record of 22 wins, originally set two seasons ago. The 25 victories are tied for the most by any Patriot League school over the past six seasons. The last time a league squad had more than 25 wins was in 2005-06 when Holy Cross posted 27. The Mountain Hawks are eying their third Patriot League title and with it, the school’s fifth-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The two sides split the season series with each winning on the other’s home floor. Each of the last two games at Sojka Pavilion have come down to the wire, with junior C.J. McCollum giving the Mountain Hawks a thrilling 56-53 win on Feb. 16, Lehigh’s first trip to Bucknell since dropping a heartbreaking Patriot League Semifinal contest last season.
Overall, Wednesday will mark Lehigh’s ninth nationally-televised contest this season (seven CBS Sports Network, ESPN2 and ESPNU). The Mountain Hawks’ most recent appearance came last time out in the Patriot League semifinals against American. The sides went back and forth in the early going until Lehigh used an 8-0 run to take a six-point advantage at the half. The Mountain Hawks cruised in the second, opening a 26-point second-half lead to erase any doubt. Ironically, Lehigh also defeated American in the Patriot League Semifinals two seasons ago.
Perhaps the biggest improvement came in rebounding. The Mountain Hawks held a commanding 44-26 edge on the glass, this after getting outrebounded 44-27 the last time the teams met at American.
A win would give the Mountain Hawks the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, which would be their fifth tournament appearance in school history (previously 1985, 1988, 2004 and 2010). Lehigh is a perfect 2-0 in Patriot League Championship Games in their history, beating American in 2004 and Lafayette in ’10. In addition, with a win, the Mountain Hawks would become the first team since Navy in 2009-10 to beat Bucknell twice in the same season.
Bucknell has advanced to its second straight Patriot League Championship Game, with a 24-8 overall record and 12-2 mark in league play. The squad started 8-6 over its first 14 games, but has been 16-2 since, including one streak of 12 in a row snapped by the Mountain Hawks back on Feb. 16. The Bison have had a fairly easy time of it to advance to the championship game, defeating Navy (87-63) and Lafayette (79-52) in Sojka Pavilion. Bucknell features four All-League players in Mike Muscala (16.3 points per game), Cameron Ayers (10.9), Joe Willman (10.8) and Bryan Cohen (6.8). Cohen also earned Defensive Player of the Year honors for a third time. The Bison shoot an impressive 39.1 percent from three-point range led by Ayers, who’s knocked down 45.2 percent (52-of-115) and Bryson Johnson 40.9 percent (76-of-186).
Lehigh snapped a four-game losing streak against Bucknell with a thrilling 56-53 victory less than one month ago (Thursday, Feb. 16). In that game, McCollum hit a game-winning three-pointer with 0.5 seconds remaining, a play featured among SportsCenter’s Plays of the Day. Overall, the Bison hold a 94-63-1 all-time advantage for a rivalry which dates back to 1901-02. The Bison had won four in a row after a stretch when the Mountain Hawks won four-of-six from 2008-10. Lehigh took three straight from 2008-09, then again on Feb. 24, 2010 as part of the squad’s Patriot League Championship campaign. Bucknell won the first-ever meeting, 38-16, while Lehigh got on the board with a 46-13 victory in 1908-09.
Like Lehigh Men’s Basketball on Facebook for exclusive content, team updates and more: https://www.facebook.com/LehighMensBasketball. Vote C.J. McCollum for the Lou Henson Award: https://www.votelouhenson.com/.
| Date: | March 7, 2012 |
| Opponent: | Bucknell Bison |
| Tip-off: | 7:00 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Sojka Pavilion/4,000 |
| Location: | Lewisburg, Pa. |
| Lehigh’s Record: | 25-7 overall, 11-3 Patriot League |
| Bucknell’s Record: | 24-8 overall, 10-4 Patriot League |
| Series: | Bucknell leads, 94-63-1 |
| Radio: | Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Matt Kerr and Greg Falkenbach ‘72. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30 PM. |
| Television: | CBS Sports Network |
| Internet Video: | None |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | bucknellbison.com |
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