Courtesy of LehighSports.com
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Junior Austin Price tallied a career-high 28 points and career-high eight rebounds to help pace a hot-shooting Lehigh men’s basketball team as the Mountain Hawks beat Colgate, 79-70 on Wednesday evening in Stabler Arena. Lehigh finished the game shooting 53 percent from the field, led by 10-of-15 shooting from Price. With the win, the Mountain Hawks remain in a fourth-place tie at 4-4 in league play, also pulling closer to third-place Colgate, who now stands at 6-3.
“I thought it was a good effort win,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “Especially towards the beginning of the game, we were pretty sharp in some of our shows on the ball. Colgate is very, very dangerous because they have (Austin) Tillotson, who is a very good player. He can shoot the ball, drive it, he’s quick and can finish. He finds his teammates. Then they have guys who will pick and pop, which we tried to neutralize. We turned them from a team who normally shoots a ton of threes and we held them down to three threes in the first half.
Twenty of Price’s 28 points came in the second half. He finished the evening shooting 4-of-8 from three-point range, including two big three-pointers in the second which helped Lehigh turn a three-point lead into a 13-point advantage. Senior Jesse Chuku scored an efficient 13 points (11 in the first half) on 3-of-5 from the field (all from three) and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Junior Tim Kempton scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting while grabbing six boards. Sophomore Kahron Ross scored nine points and added six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Freshman Kyle Leufroy had eight points and five assists to tie a career high. Sophomore Tyler Jenkins was strong off the bench, scoring six points behind a pair of first-half threes. He also had two assists and zero turnovers, running the point for 12 minutes.
“The other thing we had going for us was our shooting,” said Reed. “Jesse made shots in the first half and Austin bailed us out in the second half when our offense wasn’t terrific.”
The game was part of Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers week as both coaching staffs wore sneakers with their suits in support of the fight against cancer.
The teams traded baskets in the early going with no team leading by more than three for the first five minutes. Price used a mini 4-0 run to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 lead with 16:02 on the clock.
Tied at eight, Lehigh scored five straight points behind a Ross layup and Chuku three-pointer to take a 13-8 lead with 14:10 remaining in the first.
The Mountain Hawks upped their lead to six at 26-20 following a Jenkins three-pointer with 7:44 on the clock, his second trey in 40 seconds. Less than one minute later, Chuku knocked down a three to give his squad a 29-21 lead.
Colgate fought back to within four as a Tom Rivard layup pulled the Raiders within 33-29 with 3:47 remaining. Lehigh ended the half on a 7-2 run behind a Devon Carter three, Ross jumper and Price offensive rebound and layup, giving the Mountain Hawks a 42-33 halftime advantage.
Lehigh opened the second half on an 8-3 run as a Price three-pointer and Leufroy layup gave the Mountain Hawks a 50-36 lead. However, the Raiders answered by scoring 11 of the next 14 points to pull within 53-47 with 10:35 left in the second half.
The Mountain Hawks had an answer, largely behind Price who knocked down a three-pointer to turn a three-point lead into a 56-50 advantage. Less than one minute later, he knocked down another trey to give Lehigh a 59-50 lead with 8:47 on the clock. Lehigh finished off the 10-0 run with four straight free throws, taking a 63-50 advantage with 7:14 left in the second half.
The Raiders responded with an 8-2 run to pull within seven as a Rivard trey made it 65-58 with 4:50 on the clock. That’s as close as Colgate would get, however, as Price hit another three-pointer with exactly two minutes remaining to give Lehigh a 72-62 advantage. He also sank four free throws in the final minute to reach his career-high 28 points.
For the game, Lehigh shot 53 percent (26-of-49) and 40 percent from three-point range (10-of-25). Colgate finished at 48 percent (25-of-52) and 38 percent from long distance (8-of-21). The Mountain Hawks held a dominant 35-24 edge on the glass. Lehigh turned the ball over a season-high 21 times, but was able to overcome the figure and beat a Colgate squad that entered on a four-game winning streak.
Lehigh now begins the second round of Patriot League play when the Mountain Hawks travel to Boston University this weekend. Tipoff on Sunday is set for 12 p.m. and will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.
“Right now, at least in league play, we’ve alternated wins and losses,” said Reed. “One of the challenges I had for our guys in the team room was asking if that was going to repeat. Are they content and satisfied because we won a game? We need to continue charging forward and staying focused on the results we’re looking for. Hopefully that carries over. Tonight was a good win against a team that has played well.”
OTHER GAMES IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
American 63 Navy 58
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Freshman Delante Jones led the Eagles with 23 points to propel men’s basketball to a 63-58 win at Navy on Wednesday night. READ MORE.
Boston U 76 Army West Point 67
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Highlighted by senior Nathan Dieudonne’s third straight double-double and sophomore Cheddi Mosely’s team-high 23 points, the Boston University men’s basketball team claimed a 76-67 victory at Army West Point on Wednesday night. READ MORE.
Loyola 71 Holy Cross 54
WORCESTER, Mass. – Jarred Jones and Andre Walker combined to score 21-straight Loyola University Maryland points during the second half, and the Greyhounds shot a season-best 57.7 percent from the field to beat host College of the Holy Cross, 71-54. READ MORE.
Leave a Reply