Sunday, November 23
Stabler Arena
2:00 pm
Lehigh University
vs
Columbia
Mountain Hawks face Rider and Columbia in busy weekend
11/20/2014 5:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Weekend Game Notes --- Friday: Watch Live | Listen Live | Live Stats --- Sunday: Watch Live (Free) | Listen Live | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team will search for its first win of the season this weekend as the Mountain Hawks travel to Rider on Friday (7 p.m.) before hosting Columbia on Sunday (2 p.m.). Lehigh is coming off a 63-51 defeat to Canisius on Tuesday. The Mountain Hawks struggled to get much going offensively, but still held a halftime lead and pulled within three with just over 90 seconds remaining. Rider marks the Mountain Hawks' second straight MAAC opponent while Columbia is the third team in Lehigh's first four games coming off a 20-win season.
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Freshman Brandon Alston played well in extended minutes on Tuesday, scoring 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. He added five rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes of action. Sophomore Tim Kempton scored 19 points while grabbing seven rebounds to tie for the game high. Junior Jesse Chuku also had seven boards for the Mountain Hawks. An 18-2 Canisius run helped the Golden Griffins go up by ten. Lehigh fought back with a 9-2 run of its own, but couldn't get any closer than three.
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The last time the Mountain Hawks began the season 0-2 was 2011-12 when they went on to a 27-8 season, Patriot League Championship and NCAA Tournament win over Duke. Lehigh is looking to avoid its first 0-3 start since 2006-07.
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On Friday, the Mountain Hawks will face former Lehigh player Anthony D'Orazio '14, who graduated last spring and is using a fifth year of eligibility while attending graduate school at Rider.
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Rider is 1-1 early in the season, falling at Princeton while defeating Penn. Zedric Sadler leads the offense, averaging 16.0 points through two games behind 11-of-15 shooting (73.3 percent). He has knocked down 5-of-7 three-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws. Next up is Jimmie Taylor, a member of the 2013-14 MAAC All-Rookie Team. Taylor led the MAAC in three-point field goal percentage and so far this year, has knocked down 3-of-7 from long distance (42.9 percent). As a team, the Broncs have knocked down an impressive 45.7 percent of their three-pointers this season (16-of-35). Shawn Valentine leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.0. Meanwhile, D'Orazio has averaged 18.0 minutes over the first two games, posting 2.5 points and 1.0 rebound per game.
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Lehigh and Rider have played 51 times in their history with Rider owning a 30-21 advantage. The teams squared off in Lehigh's home opener last season with the Mountain Hawks winning 92-78. The teams used to be conference rivals in the East Coast Conference through the 1989-90 season when the Patriot League was formed. Since, the sides have only played three times. Lehigh won five straight games from 1988-90. The teams first met during the 1965-66 season.
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Columbia is coming off a 20-win season in 2013-14, advancing to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where it defeated Valparaiso and Eastern Michigan before falling to Yale in the quarterfinals. Maodo Lo is the leading returning scorer from that team, averaging 14.7 points per game last season and a team-leading 15.0 so far this year. Chris McComber is next up, averaging 12.5 points this season, followed by Steve Frankoski at 10.5. Both Cory Osetkowski and Isaac Cohen have grabbed a team-leading 17 rebounds through two games thus far. The Lions lost a slim one-point decision at Stony Brook before defeating Wagner 70-56.
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Columbia leads the all-time series, 21-12 with the Lions winning the last meeting during the 2009-10 season by a 75-70 final. The Mountain Hawks won the last meeting in Stabler Arena a year prior. Ironically, Lehigh and Columbia played on January 2 for four straight years - from 2006 through 2009. Columbia won the first-ever meeting between the two sides, 65-51 in 1962-63.
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Tickets for Sunday's game are still available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours. After this weekend's games, the Mountain Hawks will head to Chicago to face DePaul out of the Big East next Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. locally).
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Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team will search for its first win of the season this weekend as the Mountain Hawks travel to Rider on Friday (7 p.m.) before hosting Columbia on Sunday (2 p.m.). Lehigh is coming off a 63-51 defeat to Canisius on Tuesday. The Mountain Hawks struggled to get much going offensively, but still held a halftime lead and pulled within three with just over 90 seconds remaining. Rider marks the Mountain Hawks' second straight MAAC opponent while Columbia is the third team in Lehigh's first four games coming off a 20-win season.
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Freshman Brandon Alston played well in extended minutes on Tuesday, scoring 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. He added five rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes of action. Sophomore Tim Kempton scored 19 points while grabbing seven rebounds to tie for the game high. Junior Jesse Chuku also had seven boards for the Mountain Hawks. An 18-2 Canisius run helped the Golden Griffins go up by ten. Lehigh fought back with a 9-2 run of its own, but couldn't get any closer than three.
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The last time the Mountain Hawks began the season 0-2 was 2011-12 when they went on to a 27-8 season, Patriot League Championship and NCAA Tournament win over Duke. Lehigh is looking to avoid its first 0-3 start since 2006-07.
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On Friday, the Mountain Hawks will face former Lehigh player Anthony D'Orazio '14, who graduated last spring and is using a fifth year of eligibility while attending graduate school at Rider.
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Rider is 1-1 early in the season, falling at Princeton while defeating Penn. Zedric Sadler leads the offense, averaging 16.0 points through two games behind 11-of-15 shooting (73.3 percent). He has knocked down 5-of-7 three-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws. Next up is Jimmie Taylor, a member of the 2013-14 MAAC All-Rookie Team. Taylor led the MAAC in three-point field goal percentage and so far this year, has knocked down 3-of-7 from long distance (42.9 percent). As a team, the Broncs have knocked down an impressive 45.7 percent of their three-pointers this season (16-of-35). Shawn Valentine leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.0. Meanwhile, D'Orazio has averaged 18.0 minutes over the first two games, posting 2.5 points and 1.0 rebound per game.
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Lehigh and Rider have played 51 times in their history with Rider owning a 30-21 advantage. The teams squared off in Lehigh's home opener last season with the Mountain Hawks winning 92-78. The teams used to be conference rivals in the East Coast Conference through the 1989-90 season when the Patriot League was formed. Since, the sides have only played three times. Lehigh won five straight games from 1988-90. The teams first met during the 1965-66 season.
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Columbia is coming off a 20-win season in 2013-14, advancing to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where it defeated Valparaiso and Eastern Michigan before falling to Yale in the quarterfinals. Maodo Lo is the leading returning scorer from that team, averaging 14.7 points per game last season and a team-leading 15.0 so far this year. Chris McComber is next up, averaging 12.5 points this season, followed by Steve Frankoski at 10.5. Both Cory Osetkowski and Isaac Cohen have grabbed a team-leading 17 rebounds through two games thus far. The Lions lost a slim one-point decision at Stony Brook before defeating Wagner 70-56.
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Columbia leads the all-time series, 21-12 with the Lions winning the last meeting during the 2009-10 season by a 75-70 final. The Mountain Hawks won the last meeting in Stabler Arena a year prior. Ironically, Lehigh and Columbia played on January 2 for four straight years - from 2006 through 2009. Columbia won the first-ever meeting between the two sides, 65-51 in 1962-63.
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Tickets for Sunday's game are still available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours. After this weekend's games, the Mountain Hawks will head to Chicago to face DePaul out of the Big East next Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. locally).
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Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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| Date: | November 21, 2014 |
| Opponent: | Rider Broncs |
| Tip-off: | 7:00 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Alumni Gynmasium/1,950 |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 0-2, 0-0 Patriot League  |
| Rider's Record: | 1-1, 0-0 MAAC |
| Series: | Rider leads, 30-21 |
| Radio: | Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30 PM |
| Television: | None |
| Internet Video: | Through Rider |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | Rider Official Website |
| Date: | November 23, 2014 |
| Opponent: | Columbia Lions |
| Tip-off: | 2:00 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Stabler Arena/5,600 |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 0-2, 0-0 Patriot League  |
| Columbia's Record: | 1-1, 0-0 Ivy League |
| Series: | Columbia leads, 21-12 |
| Radio: | Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 1:30 PM |
| Television: | Patriot League Network |
| Internet Video: | Patriot League Network |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | Columbia Official Website |
Players Mentioned
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