Courtesy of LehighSports.com
EASTON, Pa. – The Lehigh men’s basketball team shot a season-high 57 percent from the field and the defense held Lafayette scoreless for 5:21 down the stretch as the Mountain Hawks defeated the Leopards, 87-72 on Monday evening. The win marked Lehigh’s third straight as the Mountain Hawks move into a tie for second place in the league standings with a showdown at first-place Bucknell Wednesday night. Junior Tim Kempton paced the offense with 22 points and 13 rebounds for his 26th-career double-double while senior Jesse Chuku added 18 points, five rebounds and two blocks to reach 100 for his career.
Lafayette hit two free throws with 5:48 on the clock to pull within 77-70, but wouldn’t score again until 27 seconds remaining as Lehigh’s defense stepped up in crunch time to improve to 7-5 in Patriot League play.
“That five-minute stretch was so, so important for us,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “Lafayette was playing very good basketball and they made well-contested shots, step back shots. They were making a lot of great plays. There were times when our defense was a little bit porous. Shortly before that point, Lafayette was up to about 67 percent in the second half after shooting 60 percent in the first half. I was waiting for our team to string together a couple stops. With as efficient as we were on offense, as soon as Lafayette had those empty possessions, we were able to create separation.”
Kempton shot 9-of-10 from the field while Chuku was 7-of-10, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. Sophomore Kahron Ross impressed with 16 points, eight assists, a block and two steals while junior Austin Price added 15 points and a career-high seven assists. Freshman Kyle Leufroy scored nine points on 3-of-5 from three-point range.
“I thought Tim brought a solid rebounding presence and some intensity,” said Reed. “Tyler Jenkins was an unsung hero, coming in off the bench and providing some defensive intensity as well.”
Chuku scored Lehigh’s first eight points as his second three-pointer gave the Mountain Hawks an 8-5 advantage with 18:20 on the first-half clock. A Leufroy trey less than a minute later gave Lehigh an 11-7 lead, but the Leopards responded with a 13-2 run. After a Chuku dunk off an assist from Ross, a pair of Leopard three-pointers and a driving layup forced Reed to call timeout down 20-13 with 11:44 on the clock.
The teams went back-and-forth over the ensuing minutes as Lehigh pulled within two before Lafayette regained its seven-point lead, 29-22, with 7:49 left in the first half.
The Mountain Hawks immediately answered with six straight points, but the Leopards scored the next five to take a 36-30 lead with 5:26 on the clock.
The back-and-forth half continued as Lehigh scored the next six points behind a Chuku tip-in, Price floater and Price layup, making the score 36-36 with 4:07 remaining in the first. Lafayette scored six of the final 10 first-half points to take a 42-40 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Both teams were on fire from the field in the first half as Lafayette shot 60 percent (18-of-30) to Lehigh’s 59 percent (17-of-29). Both teams were 50 percent (5-of-10) from three-point range. Chuku had 12 first-half points on 5-of-7 shooting while Kempton had 11 points and nine boards in the first 20 minutes.
Lafayette scored the first points of the second half, but the Mountain Hawks responded with four straight points as a Kempton layup evened the score at 44 just over one minute into the half.
Trailing 48-44, Kempton went on a 7-0 run by himself as a three-point play followed by offensive rebound and put back gave the Mountain Hawks a 51-44 advantage with 16:011 remaining.
The teams traded three-pointers over the ensuing minutes until Lehigh began to create separation. Down one, Leufroy knocked down his second trey in less than a minute, giving the Mountain Hawks a 59-57 lead. Chuku and Ross followed with threes to give Lehigh a 65-57 advantage with 12:48 on the clock.
Lafayette pulled within five, but the Mountain Hawks’ lead swelled to nine following a Price trey with 9:22 remaining. The Leopards again pulled within five, but Lehigh’s lead reached double figures following a Chuku three which gave the Mountain Hawks an 80-70 advantage with 5:30 on the clock. Moments prior, Chuku had two blocks in less than a minute’s time, giving him 100 blocks for his career and giving his squad plenty of momentum.
From there, Lehigh’s defense stepped up, not allowing another point until the final seconds, and the offense built a 17-point lead following a Jenkins trey with 1:02 remaining, as the Mountain Hawks ended the game on a 14-4 run.
For the game, Lehigh shot 57 percent from the field (32-of-56) and 50 percent from three-point range (12-of-24). Lafayette shot 54 percent (28-of-52) and 46 percent from long distance (10-of-22). The Mountain Hawks held a 30-21 edge in rebounds.
Lehigh wraps up its three games in five days at Bucknell on Wednesday. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be nationally-televised on American Sports Network.
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