Courtesy of LehighSports.com
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following a hard-fought 82-76 defeat to Bucknell on Monday, the Lehigh men’s basketball team heads to Holy Cross on Sunday to face the Crusaders. Opening tipoff is set for 1 p.m. The Mountain Hawks used an 18-4 run to trim a 16-point second-half deficit on Monday, eventually pulling as close as one, but the Bison responded. Junior Tim Kempton and freshman Kyle Leufroy paced the offense, tallying 29 and 23 points, respectively, both career highs.
Kempton and Leufroy’s 52 combined points were the most by any two Lehigh teammates in the same game since Gabe Knutson (28 points) and Mackey McKnight (25) combined for 53 points in a 90-75 win at North Texas on December 20, 2012. Kempton finished 10-of-14 from the field and 9-of-11 from the free throw line while adding six rebounds and four assists (which tied a career high). Leufroy shot 8-of-15, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, also adding four rebounds, an assist, block and career-high four steals.
Senior Jesse Chuku added eight points (all in the second half) and six rebounds, knocking down a pair of big second-half three-pointers during Lehigh’s comeback attempt. His trey with 12:06 on the clock pulled the Mountain Hawks within 51-50. Sophomore Kahron Ross added six points, five rebounds and four assists while junior Austin Price tallied five points (all from the free throw line) with three rebounds, four assists and two steals. Price played strong defense against Bucknell leading scorer Chris Hass early in the game, forcing Hass to 1-of-5 shooting with just three points over the game’s first 13 minutes. Senior Justin Goldsborough also recorded five points and four rebounds off the bench.
Final stats on Monday were extremely similar as Bucknell shot 28-of-55 and Lehigh was 25-of-55. Both teams recorded 18 assists, seven steals and one block while the Bison turned the ball over 14 times to 13 for Lehigh. One of the big differences was three-point shooting as Bucknell finished 11-of-22 from long range while Lehigh was 5-of-17. The Bison hit multiple tough shots as the second half came to a conclusion, including consecutive three-pointers in the span of 43 seconds that turned a 69-63 Bucknell lead into a 75-63 margin with 2:31 remaining.
Monday’s game was played on just one-day rest after the Mountain Hawks’ 65-50 win at American last Saturday (Bucknell defeated Holy Cross that same day).The game was the first of at least three Lehigh contests nationally-televised on CBS Sports Network this season. Lehigh also plays at Boston University on Sunday, Jan. 31 and hosts Holy Cross on Monday, Feb. 15 in the second meeting between the two sides after first playing this Saturday in Worcester.
Holy Cross is in the midst of an up-and-down season, entering the weekend with a 7-9 record and 2-3 mark in Patriot League play. The Crusaders have earned league victories, both at home, over Boston University and Colgate while falling at Navy, Bucknell and Lafayette. Holy Cross is 5-2 at home this season and just 2-7 on the road. Robert Champion leads the Crusaders in scoring, averaging 13.0 points per game. Freshman Karl Charles is next, averaging 10.6 points per game while Malachi Alexander has scored 10.4 per contest. Holy Cross is shooting 42.2 percent from the field while allowing opponents to shoot 45.7 percent. The Crusaders have struggled on the boards, getting outrebounded by an average of 5.2 per game.
Holy Cross holds a 39-18 lead in the all-time series, with the teams splitting the last eight meetings. Lehigh won three in a row from 2012-13 and the Crusaders responded with the next three, before the teams split the 2014-15 season series. The Mountain Hawks won the first meeting at home last season, 69-64 before dropping a 58-52 final at Holy Cross. Lehigh has struggled at Holy Cross all-time, winning just twice in its last 22 games at the Hart Center, both coming in the last six seasons (2-5 record in that span). The last two meetings in Worcester have been close, with Holy Cross winning in the 2014 Patriot League Quarterfinals, 54-48 then winning last seasons, 58-52. Lehigh and Holy Cross first met in 1976, an 84-60 Holy Cross victory, before reconvening for Patriot League play in the early 1990s.
The Mountain Hawks will return home next Wednesday (Jan. 20) to host Navy at 7 p.m.
Leave a Reply