BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men’s basketball team will return to action on Monday when it hosts a consolation bracket of the NIT Season Tip-Off in Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks will welcome Fairfield and Penn both Monday and Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. Fordham is also in the bracket and will play Penn Monday and Fairfield Tuesday, at 6 p.m. each day. The bracket features three teams who won more than 20 games last season while the other (Fordham) is from a strong Atlantic 10 conference.
The Mountain Hawks are 1-2 on the season following losses to Baylor out of the Big 12 and Pittsburgh from the Big East. In between was an impressive 89-60 win over NEC power Robert Morris. The Colonials made the NEC Championship Game a season ago, winning 26 games while advancing deep into the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. The 29-point win marked Lehigh’s largest margin of victory since a 95-55 win over Arcadia last season. It marked the Mountain Hawks’ largest win against a Division I opponent since an 86-51 victory over Lafayette on Jan. 21, 1995.
Monday ends up being Lehigh’s home opener; the Mountain Hawks’ next scheduled home game (and original home opener) following the NIT is Saturday, Dec. 1 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson. In between, the Mountain Hawks head to Connecticut for games at Sacred Heart (Nov. 25) and Quinnipiac (Nov. 27). Lehigh will see Fordham again in just over two weeks as the Rams return to Stabler on Wednesday, Dec. 4 for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Mountain Hawks.
Senior C.J. McCollum impressed with 36 points in the opener at Baylor, then followed that with 19 and 17-point efforts in the NIT Season Tip-Off. Through three games, he’s shooting 50 percent from the field (29-of-58) while averaging 24.0 points per game. Despite only getting 11 shots off at Pittsburgh Tuesday, McCollum still led the team with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 3-of-4 from three-point range.
The Robert Morris victory extended Lehigh’s winning streak against the NEC to seven straight games. The Mountain Hawks are looking to extend their home-opening winning streak to seven against Fairfield Monday. The last time Lehigh lost a home opener was Nov. 20, 2005, 64-54 to Princeton. The Mountain Hawks are vying for their eighth straight home win dating back to last season and their 15th win in the last 16 tries in Stabler. Lehigh has won four straight against MAAC opponents.
Fairfield has won 20 or more games each of the last three seasons and enters Monday with a 2-1 record. The Stags finished 23-11 in 2009-10, 25-8 in 2010-11 and 22-15 a season ago to qualify for the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where it advanced all the way to the semifinals. This came a year after winning the MAAC regular season title and advancing to the NIT. This season, the squad has beaten Central Connecticut State (64-63 in overtime) and Penn (62-53) while falling at Virginia of the ACC (54-45). The Stags are ranked 23rd in the most recent CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. Derek Needham leads the team with 14.0 points per game while Keith Matthews averages 9.0 and Josip Mikulic 8.3. Mikulic leads the team with 5.0 rebounds per game while three others have grabbed four or more boards per contest. Desmond Wade owns a team-leading 16 assists (5.3 per game).
Fairfield holds a 7-2 lead in the all-time series, but the teams haven’t met since the 1987-88 season, a 100-77 Lehigh win. The first matchup came in 1976-77, a 108-74 Fairfield victory. Lehigh’s other win came in 1984-85 (79-75).
Intrastate rival Penn went 21-13 a season ago, advancing to the College Basketball Invitational where it defeated Quinnipiac before falling to two-time defending National Finalist Butler. The perennial Ivy League power is 1-2 so far this season, defeating UMBC before falling to Delaware and Fairfield. Fran Dougherty leads the Quakers in scoring (20.3) while Miles Cartwright is right behind (16.7). Tony Hicks and Patrick Lucas-Perry average 6.3 and 6.0 points, respectively. Dougherty also leads the team in rebounding (9.0) while shooting 56.1 percent from the field (23-of-41).
Penn leads the all-time series 22-4 which includes 11 straight wins. The last meeting came in 2001-02, a 74-58 Quakers’ victory. The first meeting came way back in 1901-02, a 33-24 Penn victory. Lehigh’s wins came in 1902-03 (27-13), 1912-13 (26-14), 1987-88 (96-75) and 1990-91 (92-78).
Following the NIT Season Tip-Off, Lehigh will head to Sacred Heart Sunday to face the Pioneers at 2 p.m.
Tickets are now available on Lehighsports.com. Just click here to purchase tickets online or call 610-758-4263. One ticket is good for both games each day.
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Date:
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November 19, 2012
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Opponent:
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Fairfield Stags
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Tip-off:
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8:30 PM
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Arena/Capacity:
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Stabler Arena/5,600
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Location:
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Bethlehem, Pa.
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Lehigh’s Record:
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1-2 overall, 0-0 Patriot League
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Fairfield’s Record:
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2-1 overall, 0-0 MAAC
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Series:
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Fairfield leads, 7-2
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Radio:
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Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Matt Kerr and Greg Falkenbach ’72. Pregame coverage gets underway at 8:00 PM
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Television:
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None
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Internet Video:
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None
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Behind Enemy Lines:
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Date:
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November 20, 2012
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Opponent:
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Penn Quakers
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Tip-off:
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8:30 PM
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Arena/Capacity:
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Stabler Arena/5,600
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Location:
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Bethlehem, Pa.
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Lehigh’s Record:
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1-2 overall, 0-0 Patriot League
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Penn’s Record:
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1-2 overall, 0-0 Ivy League
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Series:
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Penn leads, 22-4
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Radio:
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Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Matt Kerr and Greg Falkenbach ’72. Pregame coverage gets underway at 8:00 PM
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Television:
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None
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Internet Video:
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None
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Behind Enemy Lines:
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