Lehigh University
Wagner
Lehigh falls in home opener
9/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bethlehem, PA – In an up and down affair, Wagner outlasted Lehigh for an 80-73 victory Tuesday evening at Stabler Arena. Despite a fierce second half comeback by the Mountain Hawks, a clutch three pointer by Hassan Wilkerson in the final minute put the game out of reach. Jermaine Hall led all scorers with 24 points and chipped in six rebounds for the Seahawks, and senior Scott Taylor led the balanced attack for Lehigh with 15 points and six rebounds. After building a 42-37 halftime lead, Wagner started the second half with a 15-5 run and it looked like they would run away with it, but the Mountain Hawks had other ideas. They responded with a 12-2 run of their own fueled by five points from junior Zlatko Savovic. Wagner maintained a slight lead until the waning minutes of the game when the Mountain Hawks managed a 7-2 run capped by an Alan Goff jumper to pull within two points. But Wilkerson silenced the crowd with a three and all but ended Lehigh’s comeback hopes. "I really thought we could have had this one," said head coach Sal Mentesana. "Late in the second half I really thought we were going to catch them. We didn’t make some key shots down near the end and that is what hurt us." Junior’s Matt Logie and Alan Goff both chipped in 12 points for the balanced Lehigh offense, and senior Bobby Mbom chipped in 10 points and a solid 8 rebounds. Lehigh will be in action again on Saturday night at Stabler Arena when it takes on Harvard. Game time is scheduled for 7:00.
