Saturday, January 25
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
10-11,3-5PL
71
vs
68
Lafayette
4-15, 0-8PL
1
2
F
Lafayette
34
34
68
Lehigh
33
38
71
Lehigh edges Lafayette 71-68 for second straight win
1/25/2014 10:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Sophomore Justin Goldsborough and freshman Tim Kempton scored 19 points apiece, shooting a combined 15-of-19 from the field to lead the Lehigh men's basketball team to a thrilling 71-68 win over archrival Lafayette on Saturday evening in Stabler Arena. Eight of the Mountain Hawks' last nine games have gone down to the final minute, with Lehigh winning the last two to improve to 10-11 overall and 3-5 in Patriot League play. Lafayette falls to 4-15 and 0-8 in the league.
"We've played in a number of close contests," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Hopefully with that will come some growth. Unfortunately, we've fallen on the short end of that stick, but tonight, we were able to persevere and come away with a victory against a team that played a pretty solid game of basketball and yet, we were able to find a way to win."
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Goldsborough hit eight of his nine field goal attempts to reach a career-high 19 points and is now shooting 74 percent from the field this season (34-of-46). Kempton's 19 points came on 7-of-10 shooting. Goldsborough had a game-high eight rebounds while Kempton added seven. Junior Corey Schaefer scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 2-of-5 from three-point range.
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"The presence that Justin Goldsborough had on this game is really hard to measure," said Reed. "Not only did he establish himself immediately with a tremendous amount of energy by blocking shots, rebounding the basketball and scoring, but he also gave us a huge burst and huge lift with his energy. When you start looking at his stat line and his production, as efficient offensively as he's been scoring the basketball, it's a new element for our team that is extremely impressive."
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Senior Mackey McKnight scored six points, adding seven rebounds and nine assists while not turning the ball over.
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"I'm excited because I'm getting to see my younger guys grow up," said McKnight. "This is a proud father moment again. We didn't crack in those final two minutes. We knew it was going to be a close game and a dogfight. We looked at each other and were like, we've been here before. Let's finish it out and take it home. I'm happy to see our progression."
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Dan Trist led Lafayette with 12 points. Lehigh snapped a three-game losing streak against the Leopards.
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The Mountain Hawks jumped out to an early 5-0 lead following a Kempton layup and Austin Price three. The lead extended to 8-2 following a Kempton three-point play. Lafayette pulled within two (10-8) with 14:41 on the clock, but Lehigh answered with 10 of the next 14 points to take a 20-12 lead following a Stefan Cvrkalj three-pointer with 11:31 remaining in the first half
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Goldsborough was a spark from the onset, immediately scoring points, adding rebounds and blocking shots. His jumper with 10:51 to go gave Lehigh its largest lead (22-13).
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The Leopards responded by going on a 12-4 run to pull within one following a Michael Hoffman three-pointer with 4:04 remaining. Lehigh's lead extended back to six (33-27) following a Kempton jumper with 2:02 left in the first half, but Lafayette scored the final seven points to take a 34-33 lead into halftime.
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Lafayette scored eight of the first 10 second-half points to take a 42-35 lead with 17:13 on the clock following one of Joey Ptasinski's three treys. The teams traded leads over the ensuing minutes until Price broke a 46-46 tie, knocking down a three with 12:50 on the clock. The Mountain Hawks never trailed from that point forward.
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A Cvrkalj three with 10:01 remaining gave Lehigh a 54-49 lead. Lafayette pulled within one possession on several occasions , but Lehigh always had an answer. A Goldsborough three-point play with 6:20 remaining made it 63-58 in favor of the Mountain Hawks.
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Ptasinski knocked down a trey with 1:40 on the clock to pull Lafayette within one (66-65), but Lehigh hit just enough free throws down the stretch. Down just two, Ptasinski had a good look at a three with 11 seconds remaining, but McKnight came down with the offensive rebound and hit the first of two free throws for the 71-68 final.
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"Making free throws allows you to close out a tight game," said Reed. "We didn't convert from the line as successfully as we needed to and that's playing with fire against any team, especially against a team like Lafayette who can utilize the three-point line and score in a hurry. Hopefully we can continue to improve upon this. Tonight, we made just enough."
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Lehigh shot 51 percent from the field (26-of-51) and 27 percent from three-point range (6-of-22). The Leopards came in at 46 percent (24-of-52) and 40 percent from long distance (6-of-15). The Mountain Hawks won the battle of the boards, 33-28.
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The Mountain Hawks wrap up the first round of Patriot League play when they host Bucknell on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Stabler Arena.
Tickets are available online, including a print-at-home option, or by calling the ticket office at 610-7LU-GAME (610-758-4263).
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Team Stats
LAFAYETT
LEHIGH
FG%
.462
.510
3FG%
.400
.273
FT%
.737
.619
RB
28
33
TO
10
14
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
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