Courtesy of LehighSports.com
BETLHEHEM, Pa. – Tied at 34 at the half, the Lehigh men’s basketball team opened the second on a 8-0 run and didn’t trail the rest of the way, beating preseason Ivy League favorite Princeton on Sunday afternoon in Stabler Arena, 76-67. Replacing an injured Kahron Ross in the starting lineup, freshman Jordan Cohen scored 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting while dishing six assists. Senior Tim Kempton scored a game-high 24 points while adding 11 rebounds for his second straight double-double.
“Jordan was terrific today,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “He really stepped into a void. I was a little concerned what would happen without Kahron Ross, who we’ve relied upon so heavily for the last three years. The good thing about Jordan thus far is when the lights are on, the kid has come through and tonight was exhibit A. He got everyone involved early, we were able to move it around and our team played very unselfishly. He also stepped up and made shots, made plays when we really needed it. For him to step into a void and score 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting is an incredible performance for a freshman.”
Senior Austin Price scored 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range while adding five rebounds, an assist, block and steal. Kempton also had four assists, three blocks and a steal to finish out his double-double performance. As a team, the Mountain Hawks shot 57 percent from the field (26-of-46), but committed 19 turnovers.
“For us to accomplish what we want to accomplish this year, we’ll need to defend our home court,” said Reed. “If we fail to do so, we open ourselves up to unpredictable results. But if we can handle business at home, we play to an advantage and we want to make sure to see that through.”
The Mountain Hawks got off to a fast start, opening a 10-4 lead following a three-pointer from Cohen with 15:37 left in the first half.
Princeton pulled within three, but the Mountain Hawks opened eight-point leads of 17-9 and 19-11 following a layup from Kempton with 11:37 on the first-half clock. The Tigers responded with 13 of the next 17 points as a three-pointer form Steven Cook evened the score at 21, then a Cook free throw gave Princeton its first lead at 22-21 with 7:17 on the clock.
Lehigh responded to take leads of 24-22, 26-25 and 31-28 following a Cohen three-point play with 44 seconds left in the first half. The teams went on to trade three-pointers over the final 41 seconds as Amir Bell banked in a trey as time expired to tie the score at 34 following 20 minutes of play.
Cohen finished the first half with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting with three assists compared to just one turnover. Kempton recorded seven points, seven boards, three assists and three blocks.
The Mountain Hawks came out of the locker room on fire, staging an 8-0 run capped off by a Cohen three-pointer to give Lehigh a 42-34 lead with 17:17 on the clock.
Princeton pulled back within five on multiple occasions, including following a Devin Cannady three-pointer which cut Lehigh’s lead to five, 52-47, with 10:01 on the clock. The Mountain Hawks went back up by nine on multiple occasions, but Princeton used a 7-0 run to turn a 64-56 Lehigh lead into a 64-63 advantage with 3:45 still remaining.
The Mountain Hawks answered by holding Princeton scoreless for the next 3:09 while scoring 10 points of their own, to open a 74-63 lead in the final minute, which was too much for the Tigers to overcome.
For the game, Lehigh shot 57 percent (26-of-46), including 63 percent from three-point range (10-of-16). Princeton shot 41 percent (25-of-61) and 33 percent from long distance (6-of-18). The Mountain Hawks held a 32-27 edge in rebounds.
The Mountain Hawks now hit the road to face Mississippi State this Friday at 8 p.m. ET before heading to Arkansas State next Sunday for a 2:30 p.m. ET opening tipoff.
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