Friday, November 21
Lawrenceville, NJ
7:00 pm
Lehigh University
0-3
74
at
78
Rider
2-1
1
2
F
Lehigh
32
42
74
Rider University
38
40
78
Rider tops Lehigh, 78-74 despite four Mountain Hawks in double figures
11/21/2014 9:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - In a back-and-forth game of runs, Rider defeated the Lehigh men's basketball team, 78-74 on Friday evening. Four Mountain Hawks finished with double-figure points, but Lehigh couldn't overcome 29 points from Teddy Okereafor. Sophomore Tim Kempton recorded his second double-double of the season and eighth of his career with 19 points and 13 rebounds while freshmen Brandon Alston and Kahron Ross scored 16 and 11 points, respectively. Lehigh now returns home on Sunday to host Columbia at 2 p.m. in Stabler Arena.
"We were in the lead in the first half. We had a pretty sizable lead, and we turned the ball over," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "I think it was seven of our next nine possessions. We allowed them to take control of the game once again and it became a dogfight. We closed the game in the second half, tied it up, but unfortunately weren't able to get over the hump."
Â
Kempton's 19 points came on 7-of-11 shooting while sophomore Austin Price also scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 3-of-5 from three-point range. Alston enjoyed his second straight strong game, scoring 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting, 2-of-4 from long distance and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Junior Jesse Chuku also scored nine points on a trio of three-pointers as five Mountain Hawks combined to score all 74 Lehigh points.
Â
Okereafor led the Rider offense with his 29 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 5-of-9 from three-point range.
Â
Rider jumped out to an early lead as a Kahlil Thomas basket made it 7-2 just over two minutes into the game. The Mountain Hawks answered by scoring nine of the next 11 points, which included a pair of Price baskets with a Chuku corner three and Ross drive to the basket sandwiched in between. A Price layup gave Lehigh its first lead at 11-9, forcing a Rider timeout with 15:00 on the first-half clock.
Â
The Lehigh run reached 16-2 as Alston knocked down two free throws then Price scored the Mountain Hawks next five points. Price three off a good look from Ross gave Lehigh an 18-9 lead with 12:23 left in the first half.
Â
Rider turned the momentum in its favor, responding to score 18 of the next 22 points. A Thomas dunk made it 25-22 with 5:12 on the first-half clock, forcing a Lehigh timeout. The Broncs followed with another basket, but Chuku knocked down a three to snap more than a four-minute scoreless drought and pull Lehigh back within 27-25.
Â
Kempton tied the score at 27, but Okereafor responded with consecutive threes. A Ross jumper and Alston three-pointer helped pull Lehigh within 35-32, but Okereafor answered with yet another trey as the first-half expired to give Rider a 38-32 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Â
Price led Lehigh with nine first-half points on 4-of-5 shooting. Kempton had six points and six rebounds while Alston scored seven points on 2-of-3 shooting. Lehigh shot 59 percent from the field and 67 percent from long range while Rider shot 57 percent and 46 percent, respectively.
Â
Trailing 43-37 early in the second half, Price knocked down a three and Kempton followed with a short jumper to pull Lehigh within 43-42 with 16:02 on the second-half clock, forcing a Rider timeout.
Â
The Broncs responded with a 9-0 run as another Okereafor trey made it 51-42. Lehigh quickly answered the run with a 9-0 run of its own, beginning with a pair of Ross free throws and ending with a Ross three-pointer to tie the score at 53 with 9:14 on the clock.
Â
Rider went on to regain a six-point lead, but an Alston trey eventually pulled the Mountain Hawks within 67-64 with 2:54 remaining. The Broncs scored the next four to make it 71-64, but a short Kempton jumper got Lehigh back within five. However, the Rider lead swelled to seven. Lehigh cut the deficit to four, but the Mountain Hawks ran out of time.
Â
Lehigh shot 49 percent for the game (26-of-53) and 43 percent from three-point range (9-of-21). Rider shot 50 percent (26-of-52) and 36 percent from long distance (8-of-22). The Mountain Hawks dominated the boards, 34-22.
Â
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).
Â
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Â
Team Stats
LEHIGH
RID
FG%
.491
.500
3FG%
.429
.364
FT%
1.000
.720
RB
34
22
TO
17
8
STL
0
9
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballC/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballSeason Preview: Men's Basketball
Thursday, October 31
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, October 30
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, February 07
Men's Basketball vs SUNY Oneonta
Thursday, November 16
