Courtesy of LehighSports.com
BALTIMORE – Led by senior Kahron Ross‘ game-high 20 points, five Mountain Hawks scored in double figures as the Lehigh men’s basketball team defeated Loyola 80-74 win on Wednesday evening in Reitz Arena. The win marked the Mountain Hawks’ seventh straight (and fourth straight on the road) as they improved to 15-13 on the season, 10-7 in Patriot League play. Lehigh also reached 80 points for a sixth straight contest, improving to 6-0 this February and 21-2 over its last three Februaries. Sophomore Pat Andree added a double-double for a second straight Wednesday, posting 15 points and 10 rebounds.
“I was really pleased to be able to come away with a win,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “That wasn’t an easy win by any stretch of the imagination. We had to play well. Loyola played well, certainly well enough to make it a very competitive game. Fortunately for us, with only six turnovers for the game, when that’s been a storyline of some of these last matchups with Loyola, I was really pleased to see that. Most of those turnovers came early in the second half, then we played a lot of clean basketball where we took care of the ball and made plays down the stretch.”
Lehigh’s seven-game winning streak marks its longest since winning 11 straight two years ago. That streak saw the Mountain Hawks go a perfect 9-0 in the month of February. Lehigh will vie for its second undefeated February in three years when it hosts Lafayette Saturday night.
The Mountain Hawks now stand tied with Navy for third place in the league standings (but in fourth due to tiebreakers), one game behind Colgate in second. With one regular season game remaining, Lehigh could still finish anywhere between second and fifth place. A win in Saturday night’s finale vs. Lafayette would ensure a top four seed and home game in the Patriot League Quarterfinals. The Mountain Hawks would finish in third with a win and Navy loss on Saturday (to Loyola). Lehigh could finish as high as second if Holy Cross also defeats Colgate Saturday.
Andree’s double-double was his third of the season and fourth of his career. Freshman Marques Wilson added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. Junior Kyle Leufroy and sophomore Jordan Cohen each scored 10 points. Freshman James Karnik had seven points and nine boards.
“We had two freshmen who were making tangible, evident, energy type plays in Marques Wilson and James Karnik,” said Reed. “You could see and feel their energy out there because they were communicating and they were playing with toughness. Pat rounded it out, getting a lot of key defensive rebounds, grabbing and securing the ball with two hands. Between the three of those guys, that was a good portion of our rebounds. Jordan always seems to have a nose for the ball as well.”
Down 4-2, Lehigh staged a 9-0 run, which extended to 12-2 as a Wilson three-pointer gave the Mountain Hawks a 14-6 lead with 14:24 remaining in the first half.
Loyola responded and a few minutes later, the Greyhounds took a 22-21 advantage following a Chuck Champion jumper, Loyola’s first lead since 4-2. Trailing 27-26, consecutive threes from Ross and freshman Caleb Bennett gave Lehigh a 32-27 advantage with 2:59 remaining, on the way to a 38-35 halftime lead.
Loyola scored the first five second-half points to retake the lead at 40-38 with 18:28 remaining, but Lehigh came right back with four points in a row. The ensuing minutes saw two ties, but the Mountain Hawks remained in front for the game’s final 16:39. An 11-2 Lehigh run turned a 49-48 lead into a 60-50 advantage.
Loyola later used a 10-1 run to pull within one at 63-62 with 5:01 remaining, but Ross and Wilson knocked down consecutive threes to turn a 63-62 lead into a 69-62 advantage with just over three minutes remaining. Cohen hit a clutch jumper with 42 seconds on the clock to give Lehigh a six-point lead, on the way to the 80-74 victory.
For the game, Lehigh shot 46 percent from the field (29-of-63), including 32 percent from three-point range (10-of-31). Loyola shot 50 percent (28-of-56), including 40 percent from long range (8-of-20). The Greyhounds held a 33-31 edge in rebounds.
Lehigh will head home for its regular season finale when it hosts archrival Lafayette this Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
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