Lehigh University
Army
Lehigh clamps down on Army, wins big
1/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
West Point, NY – Behind 23 points from senior Austen Rowland, Lehigh improved its record to 11-7, 4-1 in Patriot League play with a 60-45 victory over Army on Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena. The Mountain Hawks put on a defensive exhibition in the first half, holding the Black Knights to 12 percent shooting and just 10 points, as they led from the opening tap to the end . With the loss, Army falls to 4-13, 1-4 in the league. Lehigh showed no signs of Friday night’s heartbreaking overtime loss to archrival Lafayette as the Mountain Hawks came out and put the clamps on the Black Knights, forcing them to miss 21 of 24 shots in the first 20 minutes of play. Coupled with a 15-1 run to start the game, the Mountain Hawks buried the Black Knights from the beginning and never looked back. Lehigh was also relentless on the boards, grabbing 25 rebounds, compared to Army’s 12 in the first half. The Mountain Hawks shot 44 percent from the field, as Rowland connected on six of ten shots, including two of three from beyond the arc for 14 first half tallies. In the second half, Army began to find its touch, and was only outscored by Lehigh 36-35 for the half, but it was too little too late, as the Black Knights would not get any closer than 13. Lehigh continued its torrid shooting, hitting 57 percent of its shots in the second stanza. Junior Nick Monserez finished with 11 points, six rebounds, three steals and one block and freshman Jason Mgebroff continued his improved play, hitting for seven points and pulling down eight rebounds. For the game, Lehigh shot 50 percent and held the Black Knights to 32 percent shooting. Army’s leading scorer was Matt Bell with 11 points, including two three pointers. Lehigh Head Coach Billy Taylor was happy with the way his team bounced back from such a physically and emotionally draining game against Lafayette on Friday evening. “Austen Rowland came out and really set the tone for our club early on by making shots and everyone else just followed his lead.” Taylor adds, “I am really proud of our effort, especially defensively. We were mentally tough and picked up a big road win.” Lehigh returns to action on Friday, January 30, when the Mountain Hawks welcome Holy Cross to Stabler Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:30 and the game can be heard live in the Lehigh Valley on Oldies 1470 WKAP and worldwide on Lehigh’s website, at lehighsports.com.
