Lehigh University
Colgate
Perfect foul shooting preserves Lehigh's win over Colgate
2/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bethlehem, PA – Austen Rowland came up big whenever his team needed him Sunday afternoon, including hitting a big three late to help Lehigh defeat the visiting Colgate Raiders 61-56 at Stabler Arena. In a game of streaks, Rowland helped the team overcome a poor shooting day with a game-high 25 points as Lehigh maintained their grip on second place in the Patriot League standings.
After a tough shooting night on Friday in the win over Holy Cross, Rowland came out firing, scoring ten points in the first five minutes to stake Lehigh to a 12-2 lead. Colgate would then score eight straight over the next
Lehigh continued to stay just ahead of Colgate for most of the second half, building an 11-point lead at 46-35 thanks to two three-pointers and a layup by Rowland. The Raiders would not go away, and even took the lead on a short jumper by Andrew Zidar with
The Mountain Hawks showed their cool under pressure in the last minute, as Nick Monserez and Ra Tiah hit 6-6 from the charity stripe to seal the win. For the game, Lehigh was a perfect 9-9 from the line.
“It was an ugly game,” said Lehigh head coach Billy Taylor,”but it’s good we found a way to win. Austen was there for us today, and he hit the shots when we needed it. What really impressed me was how we shot free-throws down the stretch, especially with guys going to the line who had not been there all game.”
Rowland hit five threes in the game, and had six assists to go with his 25 points. Mgebroff had 13 points and 8 rebounds to aid Lehigh’s cause, and Nick Monserez added a season-high 10 rebounds on the afternoon as well. Zidar led Colgate (10-10, 2-5) with 18 points, and Kendall Chones had a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards. The Mountain Hawks improved to 13-7 on the season and 6-1 in league play. The 6-1 start is tied for the best in Lehigh history, equaling the start of the 1990-91 team.
Lehigh returns to the court on Saturday with a road game at Navy. The game is set to tip off at
