Courtesy of LehighSports.com
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men’s basketball team jumped out to an 18-2 lead and cruised from there, on its way to a 78-62 victory over No. 6 seed American in the Patriot League Semifinals on Sunday afternoon. After the quick start, the second-seeded Mountain Hawks didn’t trail by less than 14 the rest of the way, on the way to their 11th straight win to tie a school record. Lehigh advances to the Patriot League Championship Game for the third time in the last seven seasons and will host the title game for the first time since 2010. The Mountain Hawks host ninth-seeded Holy Cross Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
“Today, we came out with great determination and focus form the beginning,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “We defended and shared the basketball. We were able to make crisp and sharp passes and get the ball where we wanted to. Because of that, we were able to build a lead and hang onto that lead.”
Junior Austin Price led Lehigh’s offense with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. Classmate Tim Kemptonadded 17 points and 10 boards for his eighth double-double in the last nine games while freshman Kyle Leufroy added 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Senior Jesse Chuku filled up the stat sheet with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, seven rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal. Sophomore Kahron Ross tallied seven points and nine assists, moving into sole possession of second place on Lehigh’s single-season assists list, owning 188 on the year.
Along with its impressive offense which included 57 percent shooting, Lehigh held American to just 39 percent shooting.
“If you want to play for a championship you cannot reply on your offense alone,” said Reed. “We had some beautiful offensive stretches, but if you don’t play defense, you don’t put yourself in that position. We came out with the right type of mentality. We were able to stick to the game plan well enough and execute it, which allowed us to produce some pretty positive results.”
Lehigh got off to a fast start, beginning the game on an 18-2 run. Kempton hit a layup to open the scoring just 28 seconds into the contest while Leufroy knocked down a three-pointer on the ensuing possession. After an American layup, the Mountain Hawks staged a 13-0 run, which included five points from Price and four from Kempton. A Price jumper eventually gave Lehigh an 18-2 advantage with 13:18 left in the first half.
The Eagles scored six of the next eight points to pull within 12, but an 8-0 Mountain Hawks’ run quickly gave Lehigh a 28-8 advantage. The run was sparked by two three-pointers, from Chuku and Price, before a Kempton layup gave Lehigh a 20-point advantage with 9:39 on the first-half clock.
Lehigh’s lead eventually reached 21, American pulled within 14 following a 6-0 run, but the Mountain Hawks scored five of the final seven points of the first half to take a 41-23 lead after 20 minutes of play.
American scored the first four points of the second half to pull within 41-27, but the Mountain Hawks scored eight of the next 10 points, capped off by a Price three-point play, to give Lehigh a 49-29 advantage with 15:34 remaining in the second half.
After the Eagles scored the next four points, the Mountain Hawks responded with a 9-2 run as a Chuku three-pointer gave Lehigh a 58-35 lead with 11:45 on the second-half clock.
The Mountain Hawks’ lead remained between 17 and 23 over the ensuing minutes, eventually reaching 25 as a Leufroy three-pointer gave Lehigh a 73-48 advantage with 5:09 left in the second half. Ross earned the assist on the play, his 188th of the season, to move into second place on the school’s list. American slowly chipped away and pulled within 16 at the final horn, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
For the game, Lehigh shot 57 percent from the field (29-of-51), including 47 percent (9-of-19) from three-point range. American shot 39 percent (23-of-59) and 44 percent from long distance (8-of-18). The Mountain Hawks won the battle of the boards, 33-29.
The Mountain Hawks will now host Holy Cross on Wednesday in the Patriot League Championship Game. Opening tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. Tickets are now available online by clicking here.
“We have another chance to play,” said Reed. “We have a great group of guys, who had a vision of what they wanted to try to accomplish this year and we’re one step closer.”
Tickets are on sale now for Wednesday’s Patriot League Championship Game at Stabler Arena. Fans are advised to purchase in advance to avoid lines on game night and select print-at-home or mobile delivery. Tickets are expected to sell very quickly, so purchase ASAP for the best seats. Prices are set by the Patriot League. Doors will open at 6:00 PM. Phone sales and walk-up sales at Lehigh Ticket Services at Stabler Arena on Monday morning will be brisk, so online purchasing is highly recommended.
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