Lehigh tops Quinnipiac 69-58 for 1,000th win in program history
12/21/2013 9:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - After only 37 points between the two teams in the first half, the Lehigh men's basketball team shot 59 percent from the field in the second on its way to a 69-58 win over Quinnipiac on Saturday evening in Stabler Arena. Freshman Tim Kempton led the way with 12 points while sophomore Jesse Chuku had 11 and sophomore Corey Schaefer posted 10. The victory marked Lehigh's fifth in a row, eighth straight at home (dating back to last season) and 1,000th win in program history.
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"Ultimately, I thought our defense was pretty strong in the first half. We held a talented team to a low percentage," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed who coached his 200th career game on Saturday. "We showed some toughness. That toughness continued and resiliency led to some key stops and transition opportunities. I focus on two key factors: togetherness (because we had multiple players score and contribute) and a great bit of toughness (to overcome the long lull of exams with a break looming)."
Senior Mackey McKnight and freshman Austin Price scored nine points, as did junior Conroy Baltimore who returned from injury to score nine on 4-of-6 shooting. Price dished a career-high six assists while McKnight had five and freshman Shane Whitfield dished four assists.
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Ike Azotam led Quinnipiac with 18 points and eight rebounds. Ousmane Drame added 14 points and nine boards. Kempton led Lehigh with seven rebounds while Whitfield and Chuku added five apiece.
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A Kempton layup on the game's first possession gave Lehigh a 2-0 lead. Schaefer finished a jumper less than two minutes later to make it 4-0.
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Quinnipiac missed its first 11 shots before a Kasim Chandler made it 4-2 with 13:58 on the first-half.
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Lehigh got a basket from Baltimore and two from Kempton, but Quinnipiac answered to pull within 10-8 following a Drame layup with 9:16 left in the half.
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A Price three made it 13-8 with 7:11 on the clock. With Lehigh leading 17-14, the Mountain Hawks went on a mini 5-0 run to take their largest lead of the half. A Chuku three and Miles Simelton jumper made it 22-14 with 2:18 remaining. Chandler knocked down a free throw with 1:59 on the clock which proved to be the last point of the half.
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A trio of freshmen led the way in first-half scoring as Kempton had six, Price five and Simelton four. Lehigh shot 37 percent in the first half (10-of-27) and 67 percent from three-point range (2-of-3) while Quinnipiac shot 20 percent (6-of-30) and did not hit a three-pointer (0-of-8). The Bobcats held a 24-17 rebounding edge.
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Drame scored to open the second half, but threes on consecutive possessions from Chuku and McKnight gave Lehigh its first double-digit lead of the evening (28-17) with 18:16 on the clock.
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A Quinnipiac jumper made it 30-21, but the Mountain Hawks scored six straight behind a Baltimore free throw, Chuku three and Price fastbreak layup to make it 36-21, forcing a Quinnipiac timeout with 14:26 on the clock.
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The lead reached 15 (40-25) with 12:28 remaining following a Baltimore layup off a nifty feed from McKnight. It marked Baltimore's second straight field goal, both in a 1:07 span.
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A Price layup with 8:31 on the clock gave Lehigh a 17-point lead (48-31) with 8:30 left in the second half. The lead held steady between 15 and 17 until a Drame layup pulled the Bobcats within 54-41 with 5:36 remaining.
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The Mountain Hawks answered with nine straight points as an emphatic Chuku dunk made it 63-41 with 2:52 on the clock.
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Quinnipiac responded with a 10-0 run to pull within 63-51. The Bobcats wouldn't go quietly, but the deficit proved too much to overcome as Lehigh maintained its double-digit lead in the 69-58 victory. It was only the second double-digit loss of the season for Quinnipiac; the Bobcats lost to La Salle by six (73-67) and Boston University (69-66).
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Lehigh shot 48 percent from the field (26-of-54) and 67 percent from three-point range (6-of-9). The Bobcats finished at 33 percent (22-of-66) and did not hit a three-pointer (0-of-16). Quinnipiac held a 43-33 rebounding edge.
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Following the holiday, Lehigh will head to Bryant to face the Bulldogs on Monday, Dec. 30. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
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Team Stats
QU-M
LEHIGH
FG%
.333
.481
3FG%
.000
.667
FT%
.824
.688
RB
43
33
TO
16
13
STL
5
5
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