Courtesy of LehighSports.com
STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Lehigh men’s basketball team played from behind for most of the game and couldn’t overcome a 10-1 second-half run as Stony Brook held on to beat the Mountain Hawks, 62-57 on Tuesday evening. Despite battling foul trouble, senior Tim Kempton scored 27 points and added nine rebounds in just 26 minutes. Junior Kahron Ross added 11 points, but Lehigh turned the ball over 19 times (13 in the first half) to drop to 3-5 on the young season.
“It’s really difficult to be able to come away with a win on the road and have as many turnovers as we had,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “The types of turnovers that we had were very frustrating because a lot of them were passing and catching, simple fundamental turnovers. We’ve had other turnovers in other games where maybe the defense was a little bit more aggressive. This was a just series of bad basketball offensive plays.
Kempton’s 27 points came on 7-of-12 shooting, including a career-high four made three-pointers (on just five attempts). All four treys came in the second half to help set Lehigh up with a chance to tie in the final seconds, but a Kyle Leufroy three-pointer was off the mark.
For the second straight game, the Mountain Hawks’ defense played well, holding Stony Brook to just 32 percent shooting and 26 percent from three-point range, but the Seawolves converted 17-of-19 free throws which proved large.
“We were a team that was perhaps top 20 or 30 offensively in the country with the same players doing some of the same stuff,” said Reed. “It’s frustrating and disappointing. I have an expectation as a coach that we can have a decent foundation on offense. We have players who make the same plays, the same reads, the same sets, the same systems, but we didn’t do it well together.
Lehigh’s five starters combined for all of the team’s scoring as Leufroy added eight, senior Austin Price netted six and sophomore Matt Holba tallied five. With his seven assists, Ross into sixth place in Lehigh history with 409 career assists.
“We’re a team that basically can score 90. The problem is, offense and defense aren’t mutually exclusive,” said Reed. “Just because you want to be a better defensive player doesn’t mean you totally forgot what made you a good offensive player. The expectation is our guys can take the balance of both of those things and apply them. That’s what great teams do.”
Price opened the scoring with a three-pointer just over a minute into the game, but the beginning of the first half was highlighted by defense. Stony Brook’s first field goal came with 14:34 on the clock as a Bryan Sekunda three-pointer pulled the Seawolves within 5-4.
The teams traded three pointers over the ensuing two possessions, then a few minutes later, a Jakub Petras jumper in the paint evened the score at nine with 12:11 remaining in the first half.
A Leufroy three-pointer broke Lehigh’s field goal drought of nearly five minutes and helped the Mountain Hawks regain a 12-11 lead with 9:40 remaining in the first half.
Late in the half, Kempton re-entered the game with two fouls and made an immediate impact. He finished the half with 11 points, nine coming in the final 5:27 of the stanza. A Kempton three-point play evened the score at 15, but Stony Brook responded with its second straight trey and led for the final 5:16 of the half. A Ross jumper in the final minute pulled the Mountain Hawks within 26-25 following 20 minutes of play.
Leufroy opened the second-half scoring with a trey to give the Mountain Hawks a 28-27 lead. Stony Brook followed with a 7-0 run, but consecutive threes from Kempton and Price gave Lehigh a 34-33 advantage with 16:32 remaining in the second half.
The teams went back and forth in the ensuing minutes as the defenses started to take over once again. Tied at 39, Stony Brook used a 10-1 run over the span of 4:19 as a three-point play gave the Seawolves a 49-40 lead with 8:34 on the clock.
Trailing by nine, Kempton converted a pair of threes, his second and third of the half, in less than a one-minute span as the second pulled the Mountain Hawks within 51-48 with 5:35 still on the clock.
Stony Brook reopened a nine-point lead with less than two minutes remaining, but the Mountain Hawks hit a trio of three-pointers in less than one minute. Ross’ second in that span pulled Lehigh within 58-57. The Seawolves converted two free throws, but the Mountain Hawks still had a chance to tie in the final seconds. However, a Leufroy trey was off the mark and Stony Brook two free throws to wrap up the 62-57 win.
Lehigh shot 41 percent for the game (18-of-44), including 42 percent from three-point range (11-of-26). Stony Brook finished at 32 percent (19-of-60) and 26 percent from long distance (7-of-27). The Seawolves held a 34-33 edge in rebounds.
The Mountain Hawks will remain on the road on Saturday when they head to Mounst St. Mary’s for a 4 p.m. opening tipoff. Lehigh returns home next Monday (Dec. 12) to host Saint Francis (Pa.) at 7 p.m.
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