Mountain Hawks look to bounce back at Quinnipiac Tuesday
12/7/2010 1:59:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team looks to bounce back from Saturday's tough home loss when it travels to Quinnipiac on Tuesday to face the defending NEC Regular Season Champion Bobcats. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the new TD Bank Sports Center. Quinnipiac marks Lehigh's (4-4) third opponent in an 11-day span which won its regular season conference title last year.The Mountain Hawks fell to Kent State - who won the MAC last year - on Nov. 26, before defeating defending America East Champion Stony Brook last Wednesday. They also topped Ivy League Champion Cornell on Nov. 22.
Lehigh is coming off a tough 74-67 loss to Fordham on Saturday, which snapped a nine-game home winning streak dating back to last season. The squad jumped out to a quick 11-0 lead, but the Rams clawed back and took advantage of poor second-half shooting to overtake the Mountain Hawks and hold on for the victory. Lehigh was led by sophomore Gabe Knutson, who scored 20 points, including an incredible 14-of-15 from the free throw line.
The offense struggled in the second half, shooting only 26 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes. The Mountain Hawks went a stretch of 13:04 when they converted only one field goal attempt, but it was free throws that kept them within shouting distance down the stretch. Despite the struggles, Lehigh still pulled within 66-59 behind a three-pointer from senior Rob Keefer with 2:54 still to go. But the Mountain Hawks couldn't inch any closer.
The loss marked the first defeat at Stabler Arena since last Feb. 10 against Navy. It was also the team's fourth when leading at the half this season. They've led at the break in seven of the eight games, while winning the only game they had trailed - at Stony Brook. Sophomore C.J. McCollum finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth-career double-double and third in his first four home games of 2010-11. He currently stands 12th in the nation in scoring average.
McCollum earned his second straight Patriot League Player of the Week award on Monday as well. His second player of the week award comes after garnering nine Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors last season. He has now won a weekly award 11 times during the 20 awardings during his collegiate career. The native of Canton, Ohio racked up 43 points and 18 rebounds over two games last week. The honor comes one week after McCollum earned Patriot League Player of the Week and ECAC Player of the Week, while also being recognized on ESPN.com's Weekly Watch as one of nine players nationally among “More Players Who Wowed Us.”
Senior David Safstrom enjoyed a career game for the Brown & White last Wednesday, which included two points and a career-high five rebounds in 18 minutes at Stony Brook. That earned the big man his first-career start on Saturday against Fordham and he made the most of it with two points, four rebounds, a blocked shot and an assist. One of Lehigh's starting positions has changed between junior John Adams (five starts), junior Justin Maneri (two) and Safstrom (one), while the other four have stayed fairly consistent - Knutson, McCollum, McKnight and Ojo.
One game after facing a longtime rival in Fordham, Lehigh and Quinnipiac will meet for only the fourth time on Tuesday, with all coming since the 2006-07 season. The only season they didn't play was the 2008-09 campaign. The Bobcats own the slim 2-1 advantage, but the Mountain Hawks did win last season's contest, 79-71 at home in McCollum's first-career start. Quinnipiac won the first two meetings, 71-55 and 92-88. Tuesday marks Lehigh's first trip to Quinnipiac since that first matchup during the 2006-07 season.
The Bobcats won the NEC Regular Season Title last season behind a perfect 9-0 conference record, before getting nipped by Robert Morris in the NEC Championship Game, 52-50. Quinnipiac did advance to the NIT where it lost to Virginia Tech in the first round. The squad did finish with a stellar 23-10 record, very similar to Lehigh's 22-11 mark last year. Quinnipiac plays in the TD Bank Sports Center, which was just opened in 2007.
Quinnipiac enters Tuesday with a 5-2 record, including solid wins over Yale and Mount St. Mary's in their NEC opener. The Bobcats also lost a tight 66-64 final to previously undefeated Massachusetts. They do return two of their top three scorers in Justin Rutty and James Johnson. Johnson leads the way in scoring thus far, averaging 18.3 points per game, while Rutty is right behind him with 15.3 per contest, while also leading the team in rebounds (10.3/game). Dentay Tyman has improved upon his 7.1 scoring average from last season to score at an 11.3 clip through seven games this year. Quinnipiac features a big lineup with three of its five starters standing at least 6-6 tall.
The Mountain Hawks continue their road swing at Marist on Friday before returning to Stabler Arena to host Saint Francis (Pa.) on Dec. 13 in their final game in 10 days. 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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December 7, 2010
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Opponent:
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Quinnipiac Bobcats
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Tip-off:
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7:00 PM
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Arena/Capacity:
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TD Bank Sports Center/3,570
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Location:
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Hamden, Conn.
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Lehigh's Record:
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4-4 overall, 0-0 Patriot League
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Quinnipiac's Record:
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5-2 overall, 1-0 NEC
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Series:
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Quinnipiac leads, 2-1
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Radio:
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Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 and Lehighsports.com with Matt Kerr. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30.
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Internet Video:
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Quinnipiacbobcats.com
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Behind Enemy Lines:
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