Wednesday, December 4
Loretto, Pa.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
4-5
57
at
50
Saint Francis (Pa.)
1-7
1
2
F
Lehigh
25
32
57
Saint Francis U
21
29
50
Mountain Hawks pull out first road win, 57-50 at Saint Francis (Pa.)
12/4/2013 9:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LORETTO, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team took an early lead and the Saint Francis Red Flash continued to battle back, but the Mountain Hawks made the plays in the end to pull out a 57-50 win on Wednesday evening. It marked Lehigh's first road win of the season as the Mountain Hawks won their second straight game and third in their last four. Freshman Tim Kempton led the way with 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for his first-career double-double. Three other Mountain Hawks reached double-figure points.
"I think it was really important for us to show the type of character and determination to close out the game," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We had players making key plays and I think for the last eight to ten minutes of the game, we were a grittier team than we were in the first 30 minutes. The combination of making plays and showing that type of determination was really critical."
Junior Corey Schaefer enjoyed a strong game, scoring 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting including 10 in the first half. Senior Mackey McKnight and freshman Austin Price each added 12 points apiece. McKnight, who played all 40 minutes, added four assists and four rebounds.
"I thought Tim Kempton being able to score the basketball on the interior and getting some of those key rebounds that we really needed, was critical for our success," said Reed. "We count on him not only to score on the interior, but also getting some of those key rebounds that we really needed, which was critical for our success. He is doing a better job with rebounding by getting in position and pursuing the basketball with two hands. He came through with some key rebounds, including an offensive rebound in the last minute and a half."
Lehigh took an early 6-4 lead at the first media timeout behind four points from Kempton. The freshman got the scoring started with a pair of free throws 54 seconds into the game then made a post move to make it 6-4 with 16:05 on the clock.
A Kempton basket followed by a Price steal and fastbreak layup made it 10-6 with 13:47 left in the first half.
The Red Flash scored four of the next six points to pull within 12-10, but Schaefer had an answer. He knocked down a pair of threes, with an Earl Brown layup in between, to make it 18-12 with 9:31 on the clock.
Consecutive threes from Ben Millaud-Meunier evened the score at 18 with 7:25 remaining, but the Mountain Hawks scored the next five behind a Schaefer basket and four free throws (from freshman Shane Whitfield and Price) which made it 23-18 with 3:26 on the clock.
Saint Francis broke a 4:29 scoreless drought to pull within 23-19 with just under three minutes to go. After the Red Flash made it a 23-21 game, Price knocked down a pair of free throws with one second remaining for the 25-21 halftime advantage.
Schaefer led the way with 10 first-half points on 4-of-5 shooting and 2-of-3 from three-point range. Kempton and Price each had six apiece.
A Ronnie Drinnon layup following an offensive rebound led to a Lehigh timeout with 18:20 left in the second half. The Mountain Hawks got the message, as Kempton finished a three-point play to make it 30-27. Another Kempton free throw and a Price jumper made it 33-27 with 15:39 remaining.
A Price three and McKnight free throw gave Lehigh a 37-30 lead with 13:24 on the clock.
The lead reached nine (43-34) following a McKnight layup with 10:19 remaining. With the Mountain Hawks leading 46-37, Saint Francis scored five straight as a Dominique Major three-pointer trimmed Lehigh's lead to four with 5:50 left in the second half.
The Red Flash run continued. Down two, Major was fouled shooting a three, but he only hit one to pull Saint Francis within 46-45 with 4:23 remaining. Schaefer answered with a huge three with just over three minutes remaining, but the Red Flash responded with a trey to again pull within one, 49-48.
McKnight converted a nifty three-point play to make it 52-48 with 2:24 on the clock. Just over one minute later, Kempton grabbed a huge offensive rebound and finished the possession with a layup to make it 54-48. Lehigh played strong defense over the final minute and knocked down enough free throws for the 57-50 victory.
Lehigh shot 37 percent for the game (17-of-46) and 29 percent from three-point range (4-of-14). The Red Flash finished at 33 percent (19-of-57) and 22 percent from long distance (5-of-23). Saint Francis held a 40-34 edge on the glass.
The Mountain Hawks return home to host UMBC on Saturday (Dec. 7) and LIU Brooklyn on Monday (Dec. 9) before a 12-day break for final exams. Tickets are available online, 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 (in advance) and season tickets are also available.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
SFU
FG%
.370
.333
3FG%
.286
.217
FT%
.679
.500
RB
34
40
TO
8
10
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
5
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