Courtesy of LehighSports.com
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men’s basketball team jumped out to an early 14-3 lead and wouldn’t look back, downing visiting Lafayette 79-64 on Saturday evening in Stabler Arena. Saturday’s game was presented by St. Luke’s Center for Urology. The win marks the Mountain Hawks’ eighth straight as they finish the regular season 11-7 in Patriot League play, good for a tie for third place. For the eighth time in the last nine years, Lehigh will host a Patriot League Quarterfinal game; the Mountain Hawks will welcome Boston University on Thursday evening at 7 p.m.
Lehigh enters the Patriot League Tournament on an eight-game winning streak, two years after entering the postseason on a nine-game streak. Last year, the Mountain Hawks won four in a row to end the regular season. Overall, Lehigh is 22-2 in February over the last three seasons.
On his Senior Night, senior Kahron Ross led Lehigh’s offense with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting while junior Lance Tejada had 13 points. Freshman Marques Wilson scored 12 while adding a career-high nine rebounds. Sophomore Jordan Cohen added 12 points, shooting 3-of-7 from three-point range. Freshman James Karnik also just missed a double-double, posting eight points and nine boards.
“We wanted to come out with defensive energy and aggressiveness and we also had Kahron Ross,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “He set the tone for the game immediately and I love the way in which he came out with that assertiveness and aggressiveness. There’s a lot of emotion on Senior NIght, but he showed some great colors by coming out and playing with a great deal of confidence, playing aggressively and ready to attack.”
An early 7-0 surge capped off by a Tejada three-pointer gave Lehigh a 14-3 lead with 14:12 left in the first half. Lafayette pulled within six at 16-10, but the Mountain Hawks used five straight points, which included a Wilson three, to retake a double-figure lead.
Lehigh’s lead swelled later in the half, reaching 20 with 2:34 remaining following a Tejada layup to give his side a 44-24 lead. The Mountain Hawks went into halftime leading, 48-31.
Lafayette used an early 7-0 second-half run to pull within 50-38 with 17:48 on the clock. Lehigh had an answer, using a 10-0 run to take a 62-40 advantage following a Ross steal and fastbreak layup with 14:48 remaining.
The Mountain Hawks’ lead remained between 18 and 20 for the ensuing minutes. The Leopards got as close as 13 at 66-53, but Lehigh’s lead reached 20 once again following a Karnik dunk, giving Lehigh a 79-59 lead with 3:31 on the clock, on the way to the 79-64 final.
For the game, Lehigh shot 46 percent from the field (31-of-67), including 33 percent from three-point range (9-of-27). Lafayette shot 40 percent (25-of-62), including 23 percent from long distance (6-of-26). The Mountain Hawks held a 45-31 edge in rebounds.
Next up for Lehigh is the Patriot League Quarterfinals as the fourth-seeded Mountain Hawks host fifth-seeded Boston University on Thursday at 7 p.m. Tickets are available online and can be purchased here.
“For us to be tied for third in the Patriot League, considering where we started, is a great testament to these kids, and our coaching staff as well,” said Reed. “They didn’t lose faith and continued to make hard charges. We were close. If you think about some of the halves that we had, we had a bad half and a good half [early in Patriot League play]. Sometimes, that comes with a little bit of youth and inexperience. We lost some close games that were single-possession games. Sometimes, with a young team, they can put their heads down, feel sorry for themselves and take steps backwards. This team showed a lot of great resolve to be able to charge forward.
“For them to be able to put together the string that we have has been incredibly impressive,” Reed continued. “I’ve been really impressed with the way in which we’ve done; our intensity level has been higher. We’ve had so many different people contribute along this journey. It’s been fun to be around these guys.”
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