Tuesday, November 18
Stabler Arena
7:00 pm
Lehigh University
0-2
51
vs
63
Canisius
2-0
1
2
F
Canisius
24
39
63
Lehigh
26
25
51
Canisius spoils Lehigh’s home opener, 63-51
11/18/2014 9:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
| Game Photos
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team struggled from the onset and couldn't get much going as the Mountain Hawks lost their home opener for the first time since 2005, falling to Canisius by a 63-51 final on Tuesday evening in Stabler Arena. Freshman Brandon Alston was a bright spot, posting 11 points, five rebounds and three assists while sophomore Tim Kempton led the Mountain Hawks with 19 points and seven boards. Lehigh will search for its first win of the season at Rider on Friday night.
"We really struggled on offense. We weren't able to get the ball in the basket and I think it drained our energy," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to sustain any energy on the defensive end to the level that we needed. Our deflections were poor and low in the beginning of the game. We didn't turn our defense into offense or give ourselves the opportunities to create run-out baskets."
Kempton shot 8-of-15 from the field, but the rest of the Mountain Hawks struggled, combining to hit just 10-of-45 field goal attempts. Junior Jesse Chuku added six points and seven rebounds. Zach Lewis scored a game-high 24 points to lead Canisius, including a deep three-pointer with just over a minute remaining to give the Golden Griffins a six-point lead.
"We just did not play a good basketball game," said Reed. "We were very loose with our passes and we did not make good decisions. It didn't seem like anything was going right. The way in which we started the game and the lack of ability to put plays together haunted us for the remaining minutes. If we start to break down many of those turnovers, a lot of them were just silly mistakes."
Canisius tallied the game's first five points while holding Lehigh off the scoreboard until Kempton hit a short jumper with 16:40 on the first-half clock. A Kahron Ross free throw pulled the Mountain Hawks within 7-3, but the Golden Griffins answered with the next five points to take a 12-3 lead.
Alston caught fire midway through the first half to help the Mountain Hawks get right back into the game. He scored six straight Lehigh points as a fastbreak layup pulled the Mountain Hawks within 12-10 with 9:27 left in the first half.
The Golden Griffins extended their lead to four on several occasions, but a Kempton jumper and Alston three-pointer gave Lehigh its first lead at 20-19 with 3:04 on the clock. Canisius regained a 24-20 advantage, but a Chuku offensive rebound and layup followed by an emphatic Justin Goldsborough dunk off a nice feed from Alston, tied the score at 24, forcing a Canisius timeout. Senior Corey Schaefer added two free throws in the final minute for the 26-24 halftime lead.
Lehigh shot 28 percent in the first half (8-of-29) while Canisius shot 23 percent (8-of-35). Both teams struggled from three-point range, shooting 14 percent (1-of-7) and 11 percent (2-of-18). The Mountain Hawks held a 26-24 edge in rebounds.
A Kempton layup and Chuku free throw gave the Mountain Hawks a 29-24 lead early in the second half. However, Canisius answered with the next five points to tie the score with 18:15 on the clock.
Tied at 31, Ross hit a fastbreak three from the corner off a nifty feed from sophomore Miles Simelton to make it 34-31. The lead reached four at 36-32 following an Alston layup, but the Golden Griffins answered with a 10-0 run capped off by a three-pointer from Kevin Bleeker to make it 42-36 with 11:06 remaining.
The run eventually reached 18-2 as a pair of Jamal Reynolds free throws gave the Griffs a 48-38 lead with 8:07 left in the second half.
Lehigh wouldn't go away quietly, though, as the Mountain Hawks staged a 9-2 run capped off by a Schaefer three and Kempton layup to pull right back into the game, down just three (52-49) with 2:30 remaining.
Down three with less than 90 seconds on the clock, Lewis knocked down a big three-pointer to all but clinch the win for Canisius. The Golden Griffins was 6-for-6 from the free throw line down the stretch for the 63-51 final.
Lehigh shot 33 percent from the field (18-of-55) and 20 percent from three-point range (3-of-15). Canisius finished at 32 percent (19-of-59) and 22 percent from long distance (6-of-27). The Mountain Hawks won the battle of the boards, 43-39.
Lehigh will now 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. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content, team updates and more.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team struggled from the onset and couldn't get much going as the Mountain Hawks lost their home opener for the first time since 2005, falling to Canisius by a 63-51 final on Tuesday evening in Stabler Arena. Freshman Brandon Alston was a bright spot, posting 11 points, five rebounds and three assists while sophomore Tim Kempton led the Mountain Hawks with 19 points and seven boards. Lehigh will search for its first win of the season at Rider on Friday night.
"We really struggled on offense. We weren't able to get the ball in the basket and I think it drained our energy," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to sustain any energy on the defensive end to the level that we needed. Our deflections were poor and low in the beginning of the game. We didn't turn our defense into offense or give ourselves the opportunities to create run-out baskets."
Kempton shot 8-of-15 from the field, but the rest of the Mountain Hawks struggled, combining to hit just 10-of-45 field goal attempts. Junior Jesse Chuku added six points and seven rebounds. Zach Lewis scored a game-high 24 points to lead Canisius, including a deep three-pointer with just over a minute remaining to give the Golden Griffins a six-point lead.
"We just did not play a good basketball game," said Reed. "We were very loose with our passes and we did not make good decisions. It didn't seem like anything was going right. The way in which we started the game and the lack of ability to put plays together haunted us for the remaining minutes. If we start to break down many of those turnovers, a lot of them were just silly mistakes."
Canisius tallied the game's first five points while holding Lehigh off the scoreboard until Kempton hit a short jumper with 16:40 on the first-half clock. A Kahron Ross free throw pulled the Mountain Hawks within 7-3, but the Golden Griffins answered with the next five points to take a 12-3 lead.
Alston caught fire midway through the first half to help the Mountain Hawks get right back into the game. He scored six straight Lehigh points as a fastbreak layup pulled the Mountain Hawks within 12-10 with 9:27 left in the first half.
The Golden Griffins extended their lead to four on several occasions, but a Kempton jumper and Alston three-pointer gave Lehigh its first lead at 20-19 with 3:04 on the clock. Canisius regained a 24-20 advantage, but a Chuku offensive rebound and layup followed by an emphatic Justin Goldsborough dunk off a nice feed from Alston, tied the score at 24, forcing a Canisius timeout. Senior Corey Schaefer added two free throws in the final minute for the 26-24 halftime lead.
Lehigh shot 28 percent in the first half (8-of-29) while Canisius shot 23 percent (8-of-35). Both teams struggled from three-point range, shooting 14 percent (1-of-7) and 11 percent (2-of-18). The Mountain Hawks held a 26-24 edge in rebounds.
A Kempton layup and Chuku free throw gave the Mountain Hawks a 29-24 lead early in the second half. However, Canisius answered with the next five points to tie the score with 18:15 on the clock.
Tied at 31, Ross hit a fastbreak three from the corner off a nifty feed from sophomore Miles Simelton to make it 34-31. The lead reached four at 36-32 following an Alston layup, but the Golden Griffins answered with a 10-0 run capped off by a three-pointer from Kevin Bleeker to make it 42-36 with 11:06 remaining.
The run eventually reached 18-2 as a pair of Jamal Reynolds free throws gave the Griffs a 48-38 lead with 8:07 left in the second half.
Lehigh wouldn't go away quietly, though, as the Mountain Hawks staged a 9-2 run capped off by a Schaefer three and Kempton layup to pull right back into the game, down just three (52-49) with 2:30 remaining.
Down three with less than 90 seconds on the clock, Lewis knocked down a big three-pointer to all but clinch the win for Canisius. The Golden Griffins was 6-for-6 from the free throw line down the stretch for the 63-51 final.
Lehigh shot 33 percent from the field (18-of-55) and 20 percent from three-point range (3-of-15). Canisius finished at 32 percent (19-of-59) and 22 percent from long distance (6-of-27). The Mountain Hawks won the battle of the boards, 43-39.
Lehigh will now 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. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
CAN
LEHIGH
FG%
.322
.327
3FG%
.222
.200
FT%
.905
.632
RB
39
43
TO
13
20
STL
11
6
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballC/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballLehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, November 12
2025-20226 Lehigh Men's Basketball Season Preview
Thursday, October 30
Season Preview: Men's Basketball
Thursday, October 31
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, October 30
