Courtesy of LehighSports.com
BOSTON – The Lehigh men’s basketball team never trailed in the first half then came back from a 12-point second-half deficit to take a lead, but Boston University’s John Papale hit a tough, off-balance shot as time expired to hand the Mountain Hawks a heartbreaking 75-73 defeat on Sunday afternoon. A game of runs saw Lehigh stage a 16-3 run to erase that 12-point deficit and take a lead, which led into a back-and-forth final four minutes.
With the loss, Lehigh falls to 4-5 in Patriot League play while Boston University improves to 5-5.
In the game’s final minute, sophomore Kahron Ross grabbed an offensive rebound and hit two free throws to give Lehigh a 73-70 lead, but Boston University responded with a three-point play to tie the score with 11 seconds remaining. Lehigh turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, one of a season-low six on the afternoon, leading into Papale’s heroics.
“It’s so disappointing, from the and-one to the turnover to the almost desperation play where they had less than three seconds to go almost the length of the floor from the far sideline. That was a disappointing loss; we were in position to hang on, but we let it slip away.”
Junior Tim Kempton enjoyed a monster second half, scoring 17 of his 24 points in the final 20 minutes. He also added 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and 25th of his career. Kempton finished the afternoon shooting 11-of-19 from the field, including 8-of-12 in the second half. Senior Jesse Chuku added 14 points while blocking a career-high six shots. Freshman Kyle Leufroy scored nine early points and finished with 13 on the afternoon.
“Jesse gave us a big boost and cleaned up some shots in the defensive paint,” said Reed. “He held his ground, and made some perimeter shots. Kyle really established us early. He was a terrific scoring threat and in attack mode. Tim carried us towards the end, but unfortunately, it was one of those days we were so close and you could micromanage every single possession.”
Kempton scored Lehigh’s first points on a layup off a feed from Chuku. From there, Leufroy took over, scoring the Mountain Hawks’ next nine points.
Tied at seven, Lehigh staged an 8-0 run, beginning with two straight Leufroy baskets and ending with consecutive layups from senior Devon Carter, forcing Boston University’s second timeout of the half with 13:00 on the clock.
The Terriers scored the next five points, but the Mountain Hawks went on to regain its seven-point lead following tough layups from seniorJohn Ross Glover on consecutive possessions, giving Lehigh a 21-14 advantage with 9:49 on the first-half clock.
Boston University scored 10 of the next 13 points to pull even at 24, but Lehigh responded with an 8-0 run behind a short Kempton jumper, a Kempton three-point play and Chuku wide-open three-pointer, giving the Mountain Hawks a 32-24 advantage with 4:55 remaining in the first half.
Lehigh held a 37-29 lead, but the Terriers scored six of the final eight first-half points to pull within 39-35 after 20 minutes of play.
Boston University scored the first four points of the second half as a Nick Havener layup tied the score and forced a Mountain Hawks’ timeout with 17:43 on the clock.
Kempton got Lehigh on the board in the second half with a layup, but Boston University responded with a three-pointer to give the Terriers a 44-41 advantage with 16:04 remaining.
Boston University’s lead reached five at 48-43, Lehigh responded with consecutive three-pointers to take a 49-48 advantage, but the Terriers had another answer. Boston University staged a 15-2 run capped off by a Cheddi Mosely four-point play which gave the Terriers their largest lead of the afternoon at 63-51 with 9:58 on the clock.
The Mountain Hawks didn’t back down, scoring the next four points as two Leufroy free throws and a short Kempton jumper pulled Lehigh within 63-55 with 7:42 on the clock. Lehigh continued to chip away, eventually pulling within two following a Kempton three-point play then taking a 67-66 lead after a Chuku three-pointer. Chuku was shaken up on the defensive end of the floor while going for a rebound, but still knocked down the shot to cap off a 16-3 run.
The teams went back and forth from there as a Kempton layup gave the Mountain Hawks a 71-68 advantage with 2:35 on the clock, Boston University hit two free throws to pull within one, leading into Ross’ two free throws and the dramatic ending.
“Towards the beginning of the second half, BU made a hard push and once they got some confidence, they were playing unbelievable basketball for a few minutes,” said Reed. “Our guys showed a lot of resiliency and heart. At the nine-minute mark, you could tell they were a little deflated, but they kept their focus and moved forward.”
For the game, Lehigh shot 45 percent from the field (30-of-67) while the Terriers shot 46 percent (25-of-54). The Mountain Hawks shot 38 percent from long range (6-of-16) to Boston University’s 39 percent (7-of-18). The Terriers held a slight 35-32 edge in rebounds while Lehigh turned the ball over a season-low six times and helping force 13 Boston University turnovers.
The Mountain Hawks now return home for two straight games, beginning on Wednesday when they host Loyola at 7 p.m.
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