Women remain perfect, men drop heartbreaker at Bucknell
1/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The Lehigh basketball teams managed a hard-fought split against Bucknell on Sunday. For the women, senior Mary Hynoski and junior Jenny Callan each posted double-doubles as the Mountain Hawks remained in first place with a 52-44 victory over visiting Bucknell at Stabler Arena on Sunday afternoon. The win improves Lehigh’s record to 13-5 overall and a perfect 5-0 in the Patriot League. The Bison drop to 7-11 overall and 1-4 in league play. In the men’s contest in Lewisburg, Lehigh dropped a heartbreaker to Bucknell on Sunday afternoon 65-63, as Abe Badmus connected on a three-point shot with six seconds remaining to put Bucknell up two. Lehigh then scrambled down court and senior Earl Nurse got off a three-point attempt that hit the front of the rim, rolled around and off, and Lehigh lost its second consecutive game. With the loss, Lehigh falls back to .500 at 9-9 overall and 3-2 in Patriot League play, while the Bison improve to 14-4 with their 11th consecutive win, and remain perfect at 5-0 in league play. In the first half of the women’s game, neither team shot particularly well. Lehigh built a 14-7 lead early on, but the Bison rallied to tie the score at the half at 24-24. Jenny Callan led all scorers with ten first half points. The second half saw the two teams continue the defensive struggle. The Bison built an early lead in the stanza, but the Mountain Hawks rallied and built an 11-point advantage on an Adrienne Blount jumper with 4:55 to play. Callan led all scorers with a career high 18-points, while adding ten rebounds. Hynoski added 10 points and 13 rebounds – her fourth double-double of the season. Senior captain Jessica DePalo added 15 points and six rebounds in the win. Freshman Claire Sullivan did not score, but she pulled down five rebounds and dished out six assists – both personal bests. The 5-0 start against league opponents matches the best ever in Lehigh basketball history, and the Mountain Hawks’ 13th win matches Lehigh’s 2003-04 total. Meanwhile, about an hour later, the final minute of the men’s contest was a wild sequence, as Bucknell held a seven point lead, until Mitch Gilfillan sunk a three-point shot to bring Lehigh to within four. Nurse then stole the ensuing in-bounds pass and drove down the court. Nurse dished the ball off to sophomore Kyle Neptune who laid it in the basket, was fouled and hit the free throw to make it a one point affair. On Lehigh’s next possession, sophomore Jason Mgebroff sunk a 17-foot jumper from the right corner to propel the Mountain Hawks into the lead, but Badmus’s three soon took that advantage away from the Brown and White. Senior captain Nick Monserez hit six three-pointers en route to a career-high 22 points, while sophomore Jose Olivero scored 15 points. Bucknell placed three players in double figures, as Charles Lee (15), Chris McNaughton (13) and Kevin Bettencourt (12) led the Bison on the offensive end. Monserez’s six three-pointers were the most by a Mountain Hawk player since Mitch hit seven vs. Lehigh played some of its best basketball of the season in the first half on Sunday afternoon, taking a 31-25 lead into the locker room Lehigh connected on 48 percent of its shots, including a blistering 50 percent from three-point range and also caused 11 Bison turnovers. Olivero came out of his recent shooting slump, hitting four of six shots en route to ten first half tallies, while Monserez added eight points and four rebounds for the Mountain Hawks. The Bison were led by Charles Lee’s nine points and he also grabbed a team high four boards in the opening twenty minutes. The Mountain Hawks largest lead was 12 points following two free throws by Joe Knight, but the Bison quickly came back on the strength of back-to-back three-point baskets to slice the Brown and White lead in half. Lehigh went cold in the second half, hitting only 30 percent of its shots, while Bucknell played much better, connecting on 41 percent of its shots. The Bison scored 13 points in the first six minutes en route to 40 second half tallies. Bettencourt scored all 12 of his points in the second half, including a four of five showing at the line, while Olivero hit five of his own free throws, on back-to-back possessions for the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh turned the ball over just eight times, while the Bison had 15 turnovers. Joe Knight led Lehigh with seven assists and Monserez grabbed a team high eight rebounds. No coach likes to lose a game, but Billy Taylor was pleased with the effort his team gave on Sunday afternoon. “We fought hard until the end today, and that makes me proud. Nick (Monserez) has been solid for us offensively all season long, and today proved no different.” The Lehigh women return to action on Thursday, when the Mountain Hawks visit Army. The men’s team is back in action on Friday, as the Mountain Hawks play host to the Black Knights. Both games tip off at 7:00, and tickets for the men’s showdown at Stabler Arena can be purchased by calling (610) 7LU-GAME or visiting the link above.
