Courtesy of LehighSports.com
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Freshman Pat Andree tied a school record with 10 made three-pointers, finishing 10-of-12 from beyond the arc to help lead the Lehigh men’s basketball team to a dominating 100-67 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Monday evening in Stabler Arena. In total, three Mountain Hawks finished with 21 or more points as Lehigh eclipsed 100 points for the first time since February of 2015. The Mountain Hawks have now scored 190 points over their last two games and improve to 5-5 on the season.
“Pat can shoot the ball. That’s what he does,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “That’s one of the things we targeted and identified in his recruitment. He’s shown flashes of it. Tonight, the rim was huge. The ball barely hit rim at any time. He also followed it up with a really good rebounding effort as well.”
Andree’s 10 threes tied Joe Knight‘s school record, originally set on Mar. 4, 2005 vs. Colgate. His 10 makes tied two others for the most in the nation this season, coming in the fewest attempts. Andree made his first eight three-pointers of the evening, falling just three shy of tying the all-time NCAA record for most consecutive made three-pointers.
Along with Andree’s sizzling 30-point, eight-rebound performance, senior Tim Kempton recorded 21 points and 11 board for his sixth double-double of the season and 39th of his career. Kempton finished 9-of-14 from the field while adding two assists, a block and steal. Senior Austin Price also scored 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three-point range while sophomore Kyle Leufroy posted 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
“It was impressive that we could come out and play with defensive intensity and offensive ball movement,” said Reed. “In the first half, we turned the ball over and the turnovers are like an Achilles heel for us. We shot 50 percent from the floor, but we lost possessions. We can be a fairly strong scoring team, but not if the other team is running down the other away of our turnovers. In the second half, there were a lot of good individual performances, but I was pleased to see the ball go, then out on one of the first two possessions, and then we knock down an open three. That epitomizes the unselfishness that started to really take place tonight.”
In the early going, the teams stood tied at two, six and eight until Lehigh used a 13-3 run, sparked by a trio of three-pointers from Andree. His third trey gave the Mountain Hawks a 21-11 advantage with 8:34 left in the first half.
Saint Francis fought back to within 25-19 following an Isaiah Blackmon trey then 30-26 after a Keith Braxton layup with 5:05 remaining. The margin hovered between three and nine over the ensuing minutes until Kempton ended the half with a surge. He had a dunk with 1:04 on the clock then offensive rebound and layup with one second remaining, giving the Mountain Hawks a 45-36 lead at the half. In the end, Kempton scored 10 points over the final 4:32 to end the stanza with 14.
The Red Flash pulled within eight at 54-46 with 17:10 on the second-half clock, but the Mountain Hawks staged a 20-2 run, beginning with a jumper from freshman Jordan Cohen and including a pair of threes from Andree. Eventually, a jumper from junior Kahron Ross gave the Mountain Hawks a 74-48 advantage with 11:38 left in the second half.
Saint Francis got within 23, but the Mountain Hawks responded with a 12-1 run, which included four Lehigh treys, the last two by Andree to give his squad an 86-52 lead with 8:49 remaining.
Andree’s ninth three came with 4:31 remaining, giving Lehigh a 97-59 advantage, then his record-tying 10th trey made the score 100-59 with 3:36 on the clock, on the way to the 100-67 victory.
For the game, Lehigh shot 56 percent from the field (38-of-68), including 48 percent from three-point range (15-of-31). Saint Francis (Pa.) shot 36 percent (24-of-67), 23 percent from long distance (5-of-22). The Mountain Hawks held a 43-31 edge in rebounds.
Following final exams, Lehigh will then play its final nonleague game on Thursday, Dec. 22 when it hosts Cabrini at 7 p.m. The Mountain Hawks open Patriot League play on Dec. 30 at Army West Point.
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