
Mountain Hawks welcome Canisius for home opener Tuesday night
11/17/2014 4:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Coming off a back-and-forth season opener against #12 Villanova, the Lehigh men's basketball team returns to Stabler Arena to host Canisius in its home opener on Tuesday evening. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The Mountain Hawks gave the Wildcats a scare on Friday, holding as much as a five-point lead in the second half, then pulling within four with just over four minutes remaining. Sophomore Austin Price led the offense with a career-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting and 4-of-7 from three-point range while classmate Tim Kempton had 15 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh-career double-double.
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Lehigh played neck-and-neck with the #12 team in the country, actually holding the lead for almost half the game (19:33) while Villanova led for 15:52 and the game was tied for 4:35. Trailing by two at the half, the Mountain Hawks came out of the locker room on fire, scoring 12 of the first 18 second-half points as a transition three from senior Corey Schaefer made it 43-38 with 16:22 left in the second half. The Wildcats ended up closing the game on a 17-8 run to pull away for the 77-66 victory.Â
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Seventeen of Price's game-high 24 points came in the second half as he showed a strong balance between outside shooting and drives to the basket. Despite early foul trouble, freshman point guard Kahron Ross made his impact in 18 minutes, posting six points and seven assists to just one turnover. The Mountain Hawks outscored the Wildcats by eight in his time on the floor. Ross is looking to become Lehigh's third straight four-year starter at the point guard position.
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Canisius marks Lehigh's second straight opponent that won 20 games last season. Villanova was 29-5 in 2013-14 while Canisius was 21-13. The Golden Griffins opened their season on Saturday with a 64-60 home win over Vermont. Lehigh has won eight straight home openers with its last loss coming to Princeton on Nov. 20, 2005 by a 64-54 final. Last season, the Mountain Hawks dominated Rider 92-78 to open their home slate.
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Lehigh is 42-55 against the current members of the MAAC. The Mountain Hawks play three MAAC teams this season in Canisius, Quinnipiac and Rider. The Mountain Hawks by far and away have played Rider the most (51 times), holding a 21-30 record. Lehigh has played every current member of the MAAC at least once.
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Lehigh and Canisius have met just once before as Canisius won 78-71 on Dec. 7, 1990. Dozie Mbonu led the way for Lehigh with 23 points and 11 rebounds while Bob Krizansky had 13 points and 11 boards.
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Canisius enters Tuesday's matchup 1-0 after a 21-win effort last season. On Saturday, the Golden Griffins defeated Vermont 64-60 led by 24 points from forward Phil Valenti, who was 9-of-15 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Jan Grzelinski added 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting while Josiah Heath led the way with eight rebounds. Last season, the Golden Griffins defeated Siena in the MAAC Tournament and eventually qualified for the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
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Tickets are still available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours. Following Tuesday's game, Lehigh will hit the road on Friday to face the Rider Broncs at 7 p.m. before returning home on Sunday to host Columbia at 2 p.m.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Coming off a back-and-forth season opener against #12 Villanova, the Lehigh men's basketball team returns to Stabler Arena to host Canisius in its home opener on Tuesday evening. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The Mountain Hawks gave the Wildcats a scare on Friday, holding as much as a five-point lead in the second half, then pulling within four with just over four minutes remaining. Sophomore Austin Price led the offense with a career-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting and 4-of-7 from three-point range while classmate Tim Kempton had 15 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh-career double-double.
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Lehigh played neck-and-neck with the #12 team in the country, actually holding the lead for almost half the game (19:33) while Villanova led for 15:52 and the game was tied for 4:35. Trailing by two at the half, the Mountain Hawks came out of the locker room on fire, scoring 12 of the first 18 second-half points as a transition three from senior Corey Schaefer made it 43-38 with 16:22 left in the second half. The Wildcats ended up closing the game on a 17-8 run to pull away for the 77-66 victory.Â
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Seventeen of Price's game-high 24 points came in the second half as he showed a strong balance between outside shooting and drives to the basket. Despite early foul trouble, freshman point guard Kahron Ross made his impact in 18 minutes, posting six points and seven assists to just one turnover. The Mountain Hawks outscored the Wildcats by eight in his time on the floor. Ross is looking to become Lehigh's third straight four-year starter at the point guard position.
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Canisius marks Lehigh's second straight opponent that won 20 games last season. Villanova was 29-5 in 2013-14 while Canisius was 21-13. The Golden Griffins opened their season on Saturday with a 64-60 home win over Vermont. Lehigh has won eight straight home openers with its last loss coming to Princeton on Nov. 20, 2005 by a 64-54 final. Last season, the Mountain Hawks dominated Rider 92-78 to open their home slate.
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Lehigh is 42-55 against the current members of the MAAC. The Mountain Hawks play three MAAC teams this season in Canisius, Quinnipiac and Rider. The Mountain Hawks by far and away have played Rider the most (51 times), holding a 21-30 record. Lehigh has played every current member of the MAAC at least once.
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Lehigh and Canisius have met just once before as Canisius won 78-71 on Dec. 7, 1990. Dozie Mbonu led the way for Lehigh with 23 points and 11 rebounds while Bob Krizansky had 13 points and 11 boards.
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Canisius enters Tuesday's matchup 1-0 after a 21-win effort last season. On Saturday, the Golden Griffins defeated Vermont 64-60 led by 24 points from forward Phil Valenti, who was 9-of-15 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Jan Grzelinski added 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting while Josiah Heath led the way with eight rebounds. Last season, the Golden Griffins defeated Siena in the MAAC Tournament and eventually qualified for the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
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Tickets are still available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours. Following Tuesday's game, Lehigh will hit the road on Friday to face the Rider Broncs at 7 p.m. before returning home on Sunday to host Columbia at 2 p.m.
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Date: | November 18, 2014 |
Opponent: | Canisius Golden Griffins |
Tip-off: | 7:00 PM |
Arena/Capacity: | Stabler Arena/5,600 |
Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
Lehigh's Record: | 0-1, 0-0 Patriot League  |
Canisius' Record: | 1-0, 0-0 MAAC |
Series: | Canisius leads, 1-0 |
Radio: | Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon and Greg Falkenbach '72. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30 PM |
Television: | Patriot League Network |
Internet Video: | Patriot League Network |
Behind Enemy Lines: | Canisius Official Website |
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