Lehigh University
Stony Brook
Buchberger's career night leads Lehigh to win
12/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Head coach Brett Reed commented on Buchberger’s play afterwards. “He played exceptionally well tonight. He was put into the starting lineup for his toughness and rebounding and because despite being only a sophomore, he is one of our more experienced guys.” Reed continued, “With the type of defense Stony Brook plays, they give you chances to hit outside shots and tonight our guys, especially Dave, stepped up and hit those shots. I’m pleased with the poise and confidence of our team and how we handled the pressure of Stony Brook’s defense.”
He concluded, “This wasn’t necessarily the first time we’ve seen a defense like this, so I thought we were prepared for it and tried to have consistency against it.”
Lehigh shot a blistering 52 percent from the field, including 73.3% from three-point range as the Mountain Hawks drilled a season-best 11 treys. Lehigh got back to the basics, out rebounding its opponent 37-33, led by White’s ten and Hall’s six. Freshman Rob Keefer continued his solid play scoring ten points, while every player on the Lehigh roster saw time, including freshman Luke Pelullo, who made his collegiate debut.
Ricky Lucas led Stony Brook with 21 points while Michael Tyree scored 11. Emanuel Neto ripped down a team-best 11 boards, while Demetrius Young pulled down nine rebounds. The Seawolves shot just 36 percent from the field, but only turned the over nine times.
Lehigh jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead on the strength of a three by Buchberger at the 17:31 mark and extended to a 13-5 lead following a free throw from junior John Gourlay. Buchberger hit another three at the 7:07 mark to put the home team in front by 10, 20-10, and drained another trifecta on the next possession to put the Mountain Hawks ahead 23-10. Two free throws from Keefer with four seconds to go put Lehigh up 31-20 which is how the teams went into halftime.
Freshman Michael Ojo hit his second career three-pointer in as many tries to put the Brown and White ahead 39-25 at the 16:06 mark, but Stony Brook quickly cut it to a nine-point game with 14:44 remaining. Lehigh responded with a run of its own however, as it reeled off a 10-1 run to go in front 49-31 at the 10:44 mark. The Seawolves would close to nine points on four occasions, the last time coming at the 2:31 mark, but as he did all evening, Buchberger canned another three-pointer to put the Mountain Hawks ahead 69-57 and they never looked back.
Lehigh returns to action on Saturday afternoon when the Mountain Hawks play host to Harvard at Stabler Arena in their final game before final exams. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 and tickets can be purchased at the arena box office prior to the game.
