Lehigh University
Lafayette
Lehigh rolls past Lafayette 76-58 in Easton
1/21/2006 2:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Lehigh shot an incredible 66 percent from the field on the day, including a lights-out 72 percent clip in the second half, as the Mountain Hawks connected on 18 of 25 field goals, and seven of ten from downtown in the final 20 minutes. Lehigh handed out 18 assists and had just 15 turnovers, with senior captains Joe Knight and Mitch Gilfillan dishing out five and four helpers respectively. Knight also added ten points, while Mike Fischman pulled down six boards, and Neptune and Bryan White cleared the backboards five times apiece.
Head Coach Billy Taylor discussed what it meant to beat the Leopards for the first time in his time at Lehigh in
Both teams came out firing at the onset of the game, with neither squad able to open up much of a lead.
The Leopards then fought their way back and went up by six on a three-pointer by Pat Betley with 8:12 remaining in the half, but Lehigh quickly came back and tied the game for the fourth time in the opening 20 minutes when Olivero scored on a fast break lay up. The teams traded buckets for the remainder of the half, with Lehigh taking a 30-28 lead into the locker room.
As the second half began, Lehigh went on another run, as Olivero and Neptune canned back-to-back three’s and Olvero added another two to push the Mountain Hawks lead up to ten with only 1:35 off of the clock.
But following that point, Lehigh took control, going up by 17 on a fast break lay-up by Knight with 4:14 to go in the contest. The Mountain Hawks would push their lead to as many as 18 on two occasions, the last coming with eight seconds left when Knight drilled a long three.
For the game,
Lehigh returns to action on Wednesday evening when the Mountain Hawks welcome 2005 Patriot League Champion Bucknell to Stabler Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:05 and tickets can be purchased at the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office, located in Grace Hall during normal business hours, by calling 610-7LU-GAME or at anytime on lehighsports.com.
