Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh hoopsters return to action versus Army
2/19/2004 4:00:00 PM | Athletics
After a week off, the Lehigh hoops team return to the court for a doubleheader versus Army at Stabler Arena on Friday evening. The men and the women swept a pair of games from the Black Knights on January 25 at Christl Arena in West Point and will be looking for more of the same on Friday. The Mountain Hawk women take the court at Stabler Arena once again for the second of a three-game homestand as Lehigh hosts Army. The Mountain Hawks are looking to get back on track after dropping their last two league contests and four of their last five. Meanwhile, the Black Knights have come on strong of late, picking up victories in four of their last five outings. Army is led by the play of senior Katie Macfarlane, the Patriot League’s Preseason Player of the Year. She is the league’s leading scorer at 19.7 points per game, and ranks second in rebounding at over nine boards per game. Last month at West Point, Mary Hynoski scored 13 points, dished out seven assists, and pulled down five offensive boards in Lehigh’s victory. However, Hynoski will miss Friday night’s contest because of an ankle injury. The Black Knights lead the all-time series between the two schools, winning 17 of the previous 31 meetings. Lehigh has captured the last five regular season meetings, but Army has eliminated Lehigh from the Patriot League tournament in each of the last two seasons. The second place Lehigh men continue their home stand on Friday evening with a matchup versus the Black Knights of Army. This will be the second of three straight home contests with Patriot League foes for Lehigh. Lehigh has won ten straight games at home by an average of 15 points and is 21-3 all-time at Stabler Arena under Billy Taylor. Lehigh has never lost to the service academies under Coach Taylor, going 7-0 versus Army and Navy in that time. Senior Austen Rowland is averaging a Patriot League high 20.5 points per game in league action, and is also handing out a team high 4.8 assists per contest. Freshman Jose Olivero has hit for double figures in 14 games, and Lehigh is 7-2 in games in which the Fairfax, VA native leads the Mountain Hawks in scoring. Junior Earl Nurse is the top interior player for the Mountain Hawks, averaging just over five boards per game, and he also swats away 1.1 shots per night. Lehigh has defeated Army in three straight games, including the contest earlier this season at Christl Arena in West Point. In that game, Rowland scored nine of the team’s first 11 points en route to a game high 23 points on 9 of 16 shooting. The Mountain Hawks defense was particularly suffocating on that day as well, holding the Black Knights to 12 percent shooting and ten points in the first half, on the way to a 60-45 victory. Junior Nick Monserez also reached double figures for the Mountain Hawks, hitting on four of six shots from the floor en route to 11 points. Army comes into Friday’s game having won its last game, a 68-63 victory over Colgate on February 14 to complete the first season sweep of the Raiders in Army’s history. Sean O’Keefe netted a team-high 15 points on the afternoon, and for the season, he leads the Black Knights in steals at 1.22 per night. Army’s leading scorer is Josh Wilson who is hitting for 10.6 points per contest. The Mountain Hawks defeated Army last season at Stabler by a score of 78-61 as Zlatko Savovic scored 18 points and Mike Cowgill added 15. Tickets for these two Patriot League contests are just five dollars and can be purchased through the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office at (610) 7LU-GAME or on-line via the link above. The women’s action gets underway at 5:30 on Friday evening, while the men’s tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 from Lehigh’s Stabler Arena.
