Lehigh looks to bounce back on Sunday against Bryant
11/28/2010 6:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After yet another down-to-the wire finish, the Lehigh men's basketball team returns home to host Bryant University on Sunday at 7 p.m. The Mountain Hawks (2-3) have played three straight games which stood within a single possession with less than a minute remaining. They pulled out a huge win over Cornell, while dropping two road heartbreakers.
The story on Friday at Kent State was sophomore C.J. McCollum, who returned home to Ohio with a vengeance, scoring a career-high 42 points in one of the top individual performances in the nation this season.
A native of nearby Canton, Ohio, McCollum became the first Mountain Hawk to score 40 or more points in a game since Joe Knight in 2005. He fell only eight short of breaking the school's single-game scoring record and becoming Lehigh's first-ever player to score 50 in a game. McCollum's 42 points, which tie for third in single-game school history, came on 15-of-25 shooting, 3-of-7 from three-point range and 9-of-11 from the free throw line. He scored 38 of his 42 points in the game's final 28:12 after scoring only four in the first 11:38.
McCollum has now recorded 19 or more points in all four games since scoring only seven in the season-opener at Penn State. That has helped raise his scoring average to 22.7 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounding with 7.4 per contest.
Freshman Mackey McKnight also had a strong game with nine points and career-high six assists and four rebounds. All 13 players who were dressed on Friday played four minutes or more. There was a constant flow of players due to foul trouble. McKnight and juniors Justin Maneriand John Adams each finished with four, but no one fouled out. Maneri earned his first-career start on Friday as well.
The game against Kent State marked Lehigh's first of three against defending regular season conference champions within a two-week span. The Mountain Hawks also face Stony Brook (America East) and Quinnipiac (Northeast Conference) on Dec. 1 and 7, respectively.
Overall, under Coach Reed, the Mountain Hawks are 37-8 when leading at the break, and just 13-29 when trailing at intermission. The sixth, seventh and eighth losses have all come this season, though. The team has led at the break in all five games this season. Lehigh struggled in the second half of each loss; they led Penn State (27-21), Monmouth (36-27) and Kent State (41-38) before falling victim to impressive second-half rallies.
A new team into Division I, Bryant enters with a 1-4 record out of the NEC. The Bulldogs' first year with a DI schedule was in 2008-09, leading into 2012-13, which marks their first season of eligibility for the NCAA Championships. The squad struggled in its second year with a DI schedule last year, going 1-29, this after a formidable 8-21 mark in its first Division I roundabout in 2008-09.
Bryant joined the NEC after years near the top of the Northeast 10 conference in Division II. This year's quad is led by Frankie Dobbs, who averages 16 points per game. Alex Francis averages 13.2 points and a team-leading 7.6 rebounds, while Cecil Gresham is at 10.6 points and 5.6 boards. Also of note is one player on Bryant - Raphael Jordan - brother of Lehigh Director of Basketball Operations T.J. Jordan.The Bulldogs' win this season came over Iona (74-72) at the World Vision Classic in Cleveland.
The Bulldogs enter Sunday 0-4 against current Patriot League members in their short Division I history and winless in five tries against the league all-time. Four of those contests have come against Army, who they've played in each of the last three seasons. The only other game came last season, when they fell, 59-56 against Bucknell in the season-opening World Vision Invitational.
The Mountain Hawks travel to defending America East Champion Stony Brook on Wednesday before returning home to host Atlantic 10 foe Fordham in a Saturday evening showdown at Stabler. Tickets for all home games are now on sale and may be purchased on Lehighsports.com or by calling the ticket office at (610) 7LU-GAME.
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Date:
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November 28, 2010
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Opponent:
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Bryant Bulldogs
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Tip-off:
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7:00 PM
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Arena/Capacity:
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Stabler Arena/5,600
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Location:
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Bethlehem, Pa.
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Lehigh's Record:
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2-3 overall, 0-0 Patriot League
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Bryant Record:
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1-4 overall, 0-0 NEC
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Series:
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First Meeting
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Radio:
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Live on WLVR 91.3 FM and Lehighsports.com with Matt Kerr and Greg Falkenbach '72. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30
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Internet Video:
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Lehighsports.com
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Behind Enemy Lines:
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Season Preview: Men's Basketball
Thursday, October 31
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, October 30
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, February 07
Men's Basketball vs SUNY Oneonta
Thursday, November 16
