Friday, November 8
Minneapolis, Minn.
8:00 PM
Lehigh University
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Second half surge not enough in season-opening loss at Minnesota
11/8/2013 11:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Following a slow start, the Lehigh men's basketball team played Minnesota even in the second half, falling 81-62 in its season opener on Friday. Senior Mackey McKnight scored a team-high 18 points, nine coming in the last 1:34 while freshman Austin Price had 15. Sophomore Jesse Chuku led a strong effort on the glass, pulling down ten rebounds in his collegiate debut.
"I think we showed our inexperience in the first half," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We had unforced turnovers and defensive miscues which is accompanied with a very young team. We might be one of the youngest teams in all of college basketball and with that will come a growth process. Fortunately, we saw growth as we moved into the second 20 minutes where we had a little bit better focus, played with greater energy and were able to execute a little bit better on offense."
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McKnight's effort came on 6-of-13 shooting while Price was 5-of-11. Chuku and freshman Tim Kempton added eight points while junior Corey Schaefer had seven points and six assists.
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The Golden Gophers were led by Joey King who scored 20 points. Three others posted double-figure points, including Elliott Eliason who had 11 points and 17 rebounds.
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Minnesota jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead before Price scored Lehigh's first points of the season, knocking down a three with 17:21 remaining in the first half.
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The Golden Gophers scored the next five points, but McKnight hit a trey with 14:20 on the clock to pull Lehigh within 12-6.
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Minnesota answered with the next five to take a 17-6 lead, but McKnight found Kempton for an easy layup to make it 17-8 with 11:41 to go in the first half.
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McKnight's second three with 10:47 remaining pulled Lehigh within 19-11
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Minnesota went on a 7-0 run to take a 26-11 lead. The Mountain Hawks responded by scoring five straight points behind a Schaefer jumper and Price three from the corner to pull within 10 (26-16) with 4:20 remaining.
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However, the Golden Gophers closed out the first half on an 11-2 run to take a 37-18 lead to the half.
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McKnight and Price led the way with six first-half points. Lehigh held a 21-18 edge on the glass.
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Minnesota opened its largest lead (47-23) with 16:05 left in the second half, but Lehigh immediately went on a 9-0 run to get right back in the game. Jumpers from Kempton and Schaefer followed by a Chuku tip-in made it 47-29 with 13:25 remaining, then freshman Miles Simelton scored his first collegiate points with a three to make it 47-32, forcing Golden Gophers' head coach Richard Pitino to call timeout.
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Minnesota knocked down a free throw to break nearly a four-minute scoreless drought, but Lehigh scored the next four as two free throws from sophomore Justin Goldsborough extended the run to 13-1, pulling the Mountain Hawks within 48-36 with exactly 10 minutes to play.
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The Golden Gophers used a 9-0 run to take a 57-36 lead as a fastbreak layup from Austin Hollins forced Reed to take timeout.
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The Mountain Hawks chipped away, pulling back within 13 after a McKnight layup made it 62-49, but that's as close as they would get.
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Minnesota outscored Lehigh by six the rest of the way to walk away winners.
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Lehigh finished 36 percent from the floor (22-of-61) and 28 percent from three-point range (8-of-29). Minnesota finished at 46 percent (27-of-59) and 36 percent from long distance (9-of-25). The Golden Gophers won the battle of the boards, 38-35.
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"No matter what we talk about as a team, experience is the best teacher," said Reed. "We had the opportunity to experience a lot of things in this particular game. A lot of what won't work, but also, we had some hints of what will work."
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Lehigh will return home to welcome Rider for its home opener on Tuesday (Nov. 12) at 7 p.m. Tickets are available online by clicking here, including a print-at-home option, or by calling the ticket office at 610-7LU-GAME (610-758-4263). Individual game tickets are only five dollars and season tickets are also available.
"It will be our players' responsibility to understand and follow the path to success and get us where we can continue to grow and improve," said Reed. "If we have the right leadership, I think we have the right personnel that will continue to grow. Lessons like today will be a very positive thing."
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Team Stats
LEH
MINN
FG%
.361
.458
3FG%
.276
.360
FT%
.714
.857
RB
35
38
TO
16
12
STL
6
11
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
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