Mountain Hawks fall in season opener
11/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bethlehem, PA – Lehigh was outscored 8-1 to start the game and coupled with 27 percent shooting, the Mountain Hawks were unable to recover, losing their season opener 67-54 on Friday night at Stabler Arena. Lehigh was led in scoring by juniors Earl Nurse and Dayne Mickelson, each with 11 points on the evening. Long Island received 16 points from Brandon Thomas in the win.
After the slow start, Lehigh was able to make several runs, but none to pull the Mountain Hawks close enough. Poor shooting plagued the brown and white all evening, regardless of distance. Lehigh shot 27 percent overall, 12 percent from three-point range and 57 percent from the charity stripe. Long Island, which hit just 40 percent of its shots, did connect on seven three-pointers and shot a respectable 64 percent from the free-throw line.
Senior Austen Rowland, playing in his first ever game at Lehigh chipped in with 10 points and handed out five assists for the game. Mickelson led the Mountain Hawks with nine rebounds, and Nurse was the lone Lehigh player to hit 50 percent of his shots (4-6). The Blackbirds received plenty of help from several different sources, including James Williams, with 10 points, Raymond Edwards with ten points and ten rebounds, and Aubin Scott who dished out a team-high three assists.
Lehigh returns to action on Tuesday when Stony Brook will visit Stabler Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:00.