Lehigh University
Holy Cross
Lehigh rallies from 16 down but falls to Holy Cross
1/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bethlehem, PA – Lehigh battled back from a 16 point second half deficit, but the rally fell just short as the Mountain Hawks fell to Holy Cross 58-56 Sunday afternoon at Stabler Arena. The loss drops the Mountain Hawks back to the .500 mark at 10-10, 4-3 in the Patriot League. The Crusaders improved to 15-5, 6-1 in the Patriot League.
The Mountain Hawks struggled out of the gate as they allowed Holy Cross to build a ten point lead with nine minutes to go in the half. Lehigh would battle back to take four-point lead, but a Pat Doherty three pointer late in the half sent the Crusaders to the locker room with a 27-26 lead. Sophomore Jose Olivero led all scorers with 11 points in the first half including a trio of three pointers.
Holy Cross tightened its defense early in the second half, holding the Brown and White to one field goal in 11 minutes to open the half, while building its lead to 16. The Mountain Hawks battled back from the free-throw line canning 16 of 23 shots from the charity stripe in the second half. A pair of Olivero free throws tied the game at 54 with just under two minutes to play, but a pair of Doherty free throws gave Holy Cross the lead for good with 1:32 to play. Lehigh had a chance to tie, but Mitch Gilfillan’s shot was blocked by Nate Lufkin and then Keith Simmons stole the ensuing inbounds pass as time ran out.
Olivero finished with a game high 24 points including five three pointers. Mitch Gilfillan and Jason Mgebroff also hit double figures, scoring ten points apiece. Kevin Hamilton led the Crusaders with 17 points.
"We didn't run the play I wanted there at the end and it cost us," said a disapointed Billy Taylor following the game. "We need to stay focused for the entire game and not have those lapses like we had today in the first and second half. I'll sit and watch the tape and see what we need to fix before moving forward."
The Mountain Hawks will be back in action on Friday night when they host Colgate at 7:00. For tickets call (610) 7LU-GAME, log on to lehighsports.com or visit the Lehigh ticket office located in Grace Hall.
