Courtesy of LehighSports.com
EASTON, Pa. – The Lehigh men’s basketball team trailed by 10 heading into the final minute of the first half, but outscored archrival Lafayette 47-32 the rest of the way, on its way to an exciting 79-74 Patriot League opening victory on Friday evening at the Kirby Sports Center. A balanced team effort saw five Mountain Hawks score double-figure points, led by senior Kahron Ross‘ team-leading 17 points. In the process, he became the first player in the program’s 100+ year history to go 4-0 at Lafayette in a career. With the win, Lehigh improves to 6-6 on the season, 1-0 in Patriot League play heading into a Tuesday evening showdown at Navy.
After allowing 42 points in the game’s first 18:58, the Mountain Hawks allowed just 32 the rest of the way.
“The first half, our whole game plan was to be out there and be disruptive and as aggressive as we could, but we were reacting too much instead of dictating,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “Our communication would be just a second late and then somebody’s left not in a great position to be able to recover and guard their man. We had a small stretch in the first half that I think really gave us some life, but in the second half, we locked in much more. The number of breakdowns we had on defense reduced. Part of that is, Lafayette plays a style and a system where the ball is flying all over the place. To some degree, it can take a while to adjust.”
“Fortunately, our guys were able to weather the storm and pull together. I thought our communication and our energy supporting each other, even from the bench, was at a very high level. Fortunately, we made enough plays to steal a win.”
Ross added five rebounds and five assists to reach 591 helpers for his career; he now needs nine assists to break the Patriot League career record. Meanwhile, freshman James Karnik continued his strong play, posting 15 points and six boards. Sophomore Pat Andree erupted for 11 points and seven rebounds in the second half, finishing with 11 and 11 for the game, good for his second-career double-double. He finished the second half shooting 4-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range.
Junior Kyle Leufroy scored 14 points, including a clutch stepback jumper to give Lehigh a 76-72 lead in the final minute while junior Lance Tejada also had 14 points, shooting 3-of-4 from three-point range. Freshman Marques Wilson dished a career-high three assists in a strong effort off the bench.
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