Courtesy of LehighSports.com
PITTSBURGH – The Lehigh men’s basketball team took an early first-half lead and stayed within a few possessions for much of the game, but couldn’t get over the hump as Pitt downed the Mountain Hawks, 80-68 on Saturday afternoon. Lehigh was within four (72-68) with 3:23 remaining, but the Panthers ended the game on an 8-0 run to pull away. Freshman James Karnik led the charge with his first-career double-double, posting 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting along with 10 rebounds. With the loss, Lehigh falls to 3-3 on the season, heading into a game at Princeton Wednesday night.
“I thought James gave us a very good game,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “He established himself right from the beginning by rebounding the basketball. You could see his energy going to the glass. At that moment, I thought there was a very good chance that this guy came to play. He got some touches and when he had his touches, he was able to finish, particularly in the second half when he carried us a little bit offensively to help solidify our balance.”
Junior Kyle Leufroy had 14 points for the Mountain Hawks while senior Kahron Ross and junior Lance Tejada scored nine points apiece. Ross added six assists and a steal. Freshman Caleb Bennett scored seven points and was a perfect 2-of-2 from the field, while junior Jordan Cohen had seven points as well.
An early 6-0 Lehigh run turned a 5-2 deficit into an 8-5 lead as a Tejada three-pointer, Karnik field goal and Cohen free throw gave Lehigh a three-point advantage with 14:27 remaining in the first half. The teams traded baskets over the ensuing minutes as a Leufroy three-pointer gave the Mountain Hawks a 15-13 advantage with 10:05 remaining in the stanza.
Pitt responded with eight of the next 10 points to take a 21-17 lead, eventually extending its lead to eight at 29-21 with less than two minutes to go in the first. The margin reached nine at 32-23 with less than a minute remaining, but both Ross and Leufroy converted layups in the final seconds to pull the Mountain Hawks within 32-27 at the half.
A Tejada three-pointer less than two minutes into the second pulled Lehigh within 34-30, but Pitt gradually rebuilt its lead as a Kene Chukwuka gave the Panthers their first double-digit lead at 51-40 with 12:22 remaining.
A Bennett three-pointer and Karnik layup quickly pulled the Mountain Hawks back within five, but Pitt again answered to take a double-digit lead. From there, the margin swung between five and 10 until Lehigh made a late-game charge. Trailing 72-63 following a Jonathan Milligan layup, Lehigh used a 5-0 run behind Pat Andree‘s second three-pointer in less than a minute, and two Ross free throws which cut Pitt’s lead to 72-68 with 3:23 still remaining.
However, Lehigh’s offense went cold and the Panthers ended the game on an 8-0 run to win, 80-68.
Pitt shot 60.0 percent from the field in the second half (15-of-25) to finish the game at 51.0 percent (26-of-51). The Panthers were 54.5 percent from three-point range in the second (6-of-11) to finish 37.0 percent for the game (10-of-27). In the second half, Lehigh shot 50 percent from the field (14-of-28) and three-point range (7-of-14) to finish at 42.4 percent (25-of-59) and 39.1 percent (9-of-23). The Panthers finished with a 33-28 edge in rebounds.
“Give Pitt credit for making the plays. Even if it’s open, somebody’s got to make it, which isn’t always the easiest thing to do,” said Reed. “We gave up a number of layups and some easy rhythm shots, in particular for someone like Parker Stewart. He finished 4-for-7 from three, and that was a huge boost for them.
“We’ve got to find a way to get stops. We weren’t as defensively tough as we needed to be. The first half wasn’t a thing of beauty by any means, but it was competitive. We were right there. Aesthetically, we had more scoring and more opportunities in the second half, but it didn’t help us with the result. We have to be really results oriented and get stops.”
Lehigh continues its four-game road trip on Wednesday when it plays at Princeton. Opening tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on NBC Sports Philadelphia The Mountain Hawks’ next home game is Wednesday, Dec. 6 as they host Yale at 7 p.m.
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