Lehigh University
Navy
Mountain Hawks fall to Navy in closing seconds
1/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh fell to 0-2 in the Patriot League with a tough 63-58 loss to Navy on Wednesday evening at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks had pulled even at 58 following a three-pointer by Marquis Hall, but Navy’s Adam Teague came down the other end and drilled a three of his own to put the Midshipmen up 61-58. Lehigh had one final chance to tie the game, but the Mountain Hawks were whistled for a technical foul for having six players on the floor. Navy then sank two free throws to seal the game and improve to 13-4 overall and 2-0 in the league. Junior Zahir Carrington led Lehigh on offense with his third consecutive double-double as he posted 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Kaleo Kina finished with a team-high 18 tallies for the Midshipmen.
Lehigh finished the game shooting 32-percent from the floor and pulled down 45 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end. The Mountain Hawks committed only 13 turnovers and handed out 13 assists, led by Marquis Hall’s four. Navy shot 33-percent from the floor and grabbed 42 rebounds, while as a team, the Midshipmen turned the ball over only 11 times.
The first half featured plenty of missed shots as the two teams combined to hit a combined 16-of-63 shots from the floor. Navy opened the game on a 10-2 lead, but Lehigh clawed its way back and following a lay up by Carrington with 14:19 on the clock, the Mountain Hawks were down just two points. The next basket by either team came nearly four minutes later, when Lehigh freshman John Adams took a nice pass from Keefer and scored underneath, making the score 10-8. Lehigh took its first lead of the evening following a ferocious dunk by Carrington, which was set up by a steal and coast-to-coast drive by Buchberger in which he dished the ball off to Carrington at the last second.
Lehigh’s lead was short lived however as Navy came right back down and Kina scored inside the paint for a 13-12 Midshipmen lead at the 5:10 mark. Navy extended to a four-point lead on a Teague three-pointer and the lead increased to six points when Kina took a wild three-point shot, and followed his own miss with a twisting lay up that made the score 22-16. Anderson drilled a three from the top of the key however with 34 ticks remaining, and Lehigh went to the locker room down just three, 22-19.
The Mountain Hawks shot just 23-percent from the field in the opening half, with Carrington leading the way with six points. Hall ripped down seven of Lehigh’s 24 rebounds, while Keefer and Buchberger handed out two assists apiece. Lehigh committed only seven turnovers in the half, but hit on only 1-of-12 from three-point range.
Navy connected on just 27-percent of its attempts in the half, with Kina scoring a game-high eight points. The Midshipmen registered six assists on nine field goals and pulled down 23 rebounds, led by Mark Veazey and Kina with six each.
The Mountain Hawks came out on fire in the second half, ripping off a 13-0 lead in the first 4:13 to pull in front 32-22. Navy slowly cut into the deficit however, cutting it to a four-point game on a Veazey lay up at the 11:27 mark. Harris then came down the floor and drained a three to bring the Midshipmen to within a single point, while a lay up by Kina put the visitors on top, 38-37. Lehigh battled back and took a five-point lead on a lay up by Carrington with 8:15 to go, but Navy scored five of the next six points, and trailed 44-43 at the 7:30 mark.
Carrington scored and got fouled, and hit the ensuing free throw, and was followed by a three-pointer by Prentice Small, which gave the Brown and White a five-point cushion with 6:22 to go. Jordan Sugars hit a three of his own though, and following two free throws by Kina and a Harris three-pointer, the visitors were in front 52-50 with five minutes to go.
Lehigh went in front by two after Carrington sank a pair at the line, but Navy answered with two free throws of its own. Carrington put Lehigh in front by one with another foul shot, but Kina scored on an acrobatic lay up in the lane to give the lead back to Navy. Another bucket by Kina made the score 58-55 in favor of Navy, setting up Hall’s long three.
Lehigh will be back in action on Saturday evening when the Mountain Hawks play host to the Army Black Knights at Stabler Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:05 and tickets can be purchased in one of three ways: by calling 610-7LU-GAME, by visiting the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office, located in Grace Hall, or by logging onto Lehighsports.com.
Saturday is also the annual Kids Night, which includes appearances by Clutch, cartoon characters and several mascots from the Lehigh Valley, including FeRRUS from the Iron Pigs and Outkast from the Lehigh Valley Outlawz. Other activities include face painting, arts and crafts, inflatable games and a post-game autograph session. Doors open at 6:00 for the festivities.
Watch the Lehigh - Navy Post-Game Show
