Lehigh looks to get back on track vs. Navy Wednesday night
2/26/2013 8:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team looks to snap a three-game losing skid when it returns home to host Navy on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks remain in a second-place tie with Lafayette and control their own destiny to earn no worse than the #3 seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament. Senior Holden Greiner has impressed as of late, scoring 44 points last week including a career-high 27 at Lafayette Sunday.
Greiner has been especially strong in the second half. His 27 points were most by a Lehigh player since classmate C.J. McCollum had 34 against Bryant on Dec. 29. It's also the most for a Mountain Hawk against a Patriot League foe (in the regular season) since McCollum netted 30 at American last Feb. 9. McCollum did have 27 in the Patriot League Semifinals against the Eagles and 29 at Bucknell in the championship game.
Out of Greiner's 44 points last week, 36 came in the second half (15 vs. Bucknell Monday and 21 at Lafayette). He is now up to 939 career points as he could become the third Mountain Hawk in his class with 1,000 career points. Senior Gabe Knutson finished with 19 points, 11 coming in the first half, while adding a team-high eight rebounds. Greiner and Knutson combined for Lehigh's first 20 and 29 of its first 32 second-half points.
Lehigh took a six-point halftime lead and extended it to 10 midway through the second. A highlight-reel alley-oop from junior B.J. Bailey to Greiner gave Lehigh a 55-47 lead with 12:11 remaining, forcing Lafayette to call timeout. After the lead reached double figures, the Leopards staged a 14-2 run to take a 61-59 lead following a Bryce Scott three with 6:52 on the clock.
Lafayette swept the season series in competitive results for the first time since 2001-02. Lehigh will look to snap its first three-game losing streak in league play since the 2008-09 season. The Mountain Hawks are riding a six-game winning streak against Navy as they remain home for (at least) the next three games. Lehigh will host Army Saturday on CBS Sports Network before hosting a Patriot League Quarterfinal game next Wednesday, Mar. 6. Head coach Brett Reed remains tied for the school record in wins with 112.
The Midshipmen have enjoyed a much-improved season, coming in with eight wins but only two in their last 16 games. Navy had a big win over Bryant on Dec. 10 (who is now 17-9 and in second place in the NEC). The Midshipmen own Patriot League wins over Army (currently in fourth place) and American (who stands fifth). Worth Smith leads the team in scoring (10.5) and rebounding (5.8) while Tilman Dunbar averages 10.0 points and a league-leading 5.1 assists. Brandon Venturini comes in with 8.9 points per contest while Kendall Knorr averages six. An extremely young squad, four of Navy's five starters in its last game at Colgate were freshmen or sophomores.
Navy won both meetings during Lehigh's 2009-10 Patriot League Championship campaign, but the Mountain Hawks have bounced back with a vengeance to pull within 43-24 in the all-time series. Lehigh has won six straight since, including a 71-49 victory at Navy on Jan. 30. The Mountain Hawks have won three straight at home and three straight on the road. The sides first met during the 1910-11 season, a 31-24 Navy victory. Lehigh's first victory was in 1925-26 by a 25-23 final. The Midshipmen won 17 of the first 19 meetings overall.
The Mountain Hawks will close out the regular season against Army Saturday at 12 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Lehigh has clinched a home game in the Patriot League Quarterfinals, which is set for next Wednesday (Mar. 6) at 7 p.m.
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Individual and season tickets are on sale and may be purchased on Lehighsports.com, over the phone (610-758-4263) or in-person at Stabler Arena, Monday-through-Friday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
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Date:
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February 27, 2013
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Opponent:
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Navy Midshipmen
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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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18-8 overall, 8-4 Patriot League
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Navy's Record Record:
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7-20, 2-10 Patriot League
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Series:
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Navy leads, 43-24
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Radio:
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Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Matt Kerr. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30 PM
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Television:
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Service Electric 2 Sports
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Internet Video:
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Behind Enemy Lines:
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