Lehigh University
Harvard
Lehigh loses a heartbreaker
9/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bethlehem, PA – Lehigh lost a heartbreaker to Harvard 64-62 on Saturday evening at Stabler Arena. A jumper by Elliot Prasse-Freeman with six seconds to go proved to be the game winner for Harvard who improved to 2-1 on the season with the win. The Mountain Hawks fell to 0-3.
"This is a tough game to lose," said head coach Sal Mentesana. "The bottom line was they executed near the end of the game and we didn’t. We missed free throws and turned the ball over. Now we are in a hole and we have to find a way to turn it around."
The game was a close battle throughout as both teams held several leads but none more than seven points in the second half. A three pointer by Zlatko Savovic gave Lehigh a 54-52 lead with 3:32 remaining. A Harvard turnover followed on the next possession and a Bobby Mbom bucket and a free throw by Alex Jensen made it 57-52. A pair of free throws by Heil at 2:01 made it 59-52, the largest margin of the game. Harvard did not quit however. A bucket by Patrick Harvey at 1:52 put Harvard within five and an offensive foul by Alex Jensen at 1:36 opened the door for the Crimson. A triple by Tim Coleman with 1:22 to go made it a two-point game at 59-57. Lehigh took a timeout with 1:03 to go and an Eric Heil basket out of the timeout with 34 seconds to go gave Lehigh a 61-57 lead but a triple by Prasse-Freeman with 24 seconds to go put the Crimson within two. A Lehigh turnover and a jumper by Andrew Gellert with 11 seconds to go tied the game at 62. The Mountain Hawks had possession but a turnover by Matt Logie with six seconds left in the game setup the game-winner by Prasse-Freeman. A desperation shot by Alan Goff at the buzzer didn’t go and Lehigh suffered its third loss of the season.
Lehigh’s Alex Jensen finished the game with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting including four buckets from behind the arc. Five players scored eight points for the Mountain Hawks including Eric Heil, Logie, Scott Taylor, Mbom, and Goff. Mbom led the rebounding attack with eight. Lehigh shot just 39% for the game but outrebounded the Crimson 35-33.
Patrick Harvey scored a game high 21 points to lead the Crimson. Coleman finished with 15 points and eight rebounds while Prasse-Freeman rounded out the Harvard players in double figures with 14 points including twelve by way of the three-pointer.
Lehigh returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to Columbia for the second of a three game series against Ivy League opponents. Tip-off is set for 7:00 in the Big Apple.
