Wednesday, January 8
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
8-8, 1-2PL
76
vs
79
Army
7-7, 3-0PL
1
2
F
Army
39
40
79
Lehigh
33
43
76
Lehigh drops another heartbreaker, 79-76 to Army
1/8/2014 10:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team played a fourth straight game decided in the final seconds, but it was Army that prevailed in the end, 79-76 on Wednesday evening in Stabler Arena. A three-pointer from senior Mackey McKnight fell short at the buzzer as Lehigh fell to 8-8 overall and 1-2 in Patriot League play.
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"Ultimately, this game was a tale of two runs," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "I thought we were controlling tempo, controlling pace and getting the shots that we needed until Army made a (20-4) run at the end of the first half. Then all of a sudden, there was a turnover, offensive rebound, another turnover, bad shot and block.
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"In the second half, they go on a 9-0 run," Reed continued. "It was just those lapses that were the story of the game. We worked like mad at the beginning of the second half to overcome the first run, then we allow the same thing to happen in the second half."
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Five Mountain Hawks scored double-figure points for the second time this season. McKnight led the way with 19 points, five assists and five rebounds. Junior Corey Schaefer added 13 including several key second-half threes. Freshman Tim Kempton scored 12 points and added six rebounds while freshman Austin Price and sophomore Justin Goldsborough posted 11 points apiece. Goldsborough's point total tied a career high while he added a season-high seven rebounds as well.
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"I thought Justin gave great production and had a tremendous amount of energy," said Reed. "He was getting key rebounds for us, giving us 15 terrific minutes, the type of minutes that we were waiting. If he can do that on a consistent basis, it solves a lot of problems and helps us a great deal, without a doubt."
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After holding the Patriot League's second leading scorer Kyle Wilson scoreless over the first 16 minutes, He went off for nine points over the final 3:27 and added 14 in the second half to finish with a game-high 23 points.
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Sophomore Jesse Chuku got the scoring started with a three-point play on the fast break off an assist from Schaefer. Army responded to take a 4-3 lead, but  five straight Lehigh points, capped off by a McKnight three-pointer, made it 8-4 with 15:01 on the clock.
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The lead reached six following a Price layup, but Army answered with five in a row and eight of the next 10 to tie the score at 12 with 12:44 left in the first half.
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The Mountain Hawks promptly went on a 7-0 run, beginning with a pair of Goldsborough layups and finishing with a Price trey to make it 22-15 with 10:06 to go in the first, forcing the Black Knights to call timeout.
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The lead reached eight (27-19) following a Stefan Cvrkalj three, but the Black Knights went on a 20-4 run over the next 6:40 before a Schaefer jumper ended more than a five minute scoreless drought to pull Lehigh within 39-33 at the half.
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After a hot start, Lehigh cooled off but still shot 47 percent in the first half (14-of-30), including 44 percent from three-point range (4-of-9). Army shot 52 percent (17-of-33) and 50 percent from long distance (5-of-10). The Black Knights held a 17-15 edge in first-half rebounds.
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Early in the second half, Army continued where it left off, knocking down five of its first six shots from the field to open an eight-point lead.
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Trailing 51-44, Lehigh used two straight Goldsborough free throws and a Schaefer three to pull within two (51-49) with 13:37 on the clock.
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Schaefer's second three in less than two minutes gave the Mountain Hawks a 54-53 advantage, their first lead since 31-28, but Army's Kevin Ferguson answered less than a minute later to give the Black Knights the lead back.
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A Price fastbreak dunk off a feed from Goldsborough made it 56-55 Lehigh, then Goldsborough followed with three straight points to make it 59-55.
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That proved to be Lehigh's largest lead of the second half as Army used a 9-0 run to take a 70-62 advantage following a Wilson layup with just over five minutes remaining.
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A Wilson jumper gave Army a 74-67 lead with 1:16 on the clock, but the Mountain Hawks wouldn't go down quietly. Five straight points from McKnight made it 74-72 with 28 seconds to go. The teams continued to trade points as two Wilson free throws made it 79-76 with seven seconds remaining. McKnight had one final chance at a three to tie the score, but it fell short as time expired.
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Lehigh shot 47 percent from the field (26-of-55) and 42 percent from three-point range (8-of-19). Army finished at 48 percent (31-of-64) and 38 percent from long distance (9-of-24). The Mountain Hawks won the battle of the boards, 35-29.
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Lehigh now hits the road to face Patriot League newcomer Loyola on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Baltimore. Lehigh returns home next Wednesday (Jan. 15) to host American at 7 p.m.
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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
ARMY
LEHIGH
FG%
.484
.473
3FG%
.375
.421
FT%
.615
.889
RB
29
35
TO
8
13
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
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