Wednesday, November 26
Chicago, Ill.
8:00 pm
Lehigh University
at
DePaul
Lehigh and DePaul meet in nationally-televised Thanksgiving Eve showdown
11/25/2014 10:58:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | Listen Live | Live Stats
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Searching for its first win of the season, the Lehigh men's basketball team hits the road for a Thanksgiving Eve showdown at DePaul. Wednesday night's game tips off at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. locally) and will air live nation-wide on Fox Sports 1. This will be a homecoming for sophomore Miles Simelton, who is from just outside Chicago in Oswego, Illinois. DePaul marks Lehigh's second Big East foe in the first five games after opening the season against Villanova at the PPL Center in Allentown.
The Mountain Hawks have faced a challenging schedule to begin the year with three of their four opponents so far coming off 20-win seasons. The fourth, Rider, is a perennially strong program out of the MAAC. Lehigh is coming off a 54-44 loss to Columbia on Sunday as the Mountain Hawks struggled offensively at home for a second straight game. Lehigh shot just 30 percent from the floor and did not hit a three-pointer for the first time since Jan. 26, 2011 against Bucknell, finishing 0-for-13 from long range in each of those occasions.
Sophomore Tim Kempton continued his strong play on Sunday, posting 15 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and ninth of his career. He is now averaging a double-double on the season with averages of 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds thus far. Freshman Kahron Ross also reached double-figure points for a second straight game, scoring 10 points while adding four assists and three rebounds. He was recognized with Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors on Monday while Kempton garnered honorable mention recognition.
Lehigh is vying for its first win against a Big East team since a 76-71 win at Rutgers on Nov. 26, 2008. The Scarlet Knights are now members of the Big Ten. The Mountain Hawks' last win over a BCS conference foe came during the 2012 NCAA Tournament, a 75-70 win over Duke.
DePaul enters Wednesday with an 0-2 record, having not played since an 80-62 win over Drake on Nov. 18. DePaul has only played two games this season, defeating UIC 72-71 and Drake 80-62, both at home. The Blue Demons finished last season 12-21 and 3-15 in the Big East, but they did upset Georgetown in the Big East Tournament. DePaul features a relatively young and inexperienced team with two sophomores among its starting five. The team lost its two leading scorers from 2013-14 in Cleveland Melvin (16.7 ppg) and Brandon Young (16.3 ppg). Billy Garrett is the leading returning scorer and leads the way so far this season (12.4 ppg last year and 13.5 ppg so far this year). Tommy Hamilton also averaged 7.7 points last year and is at 13.0 so far this season. Hamilton is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game to lead the way while Garrett is averaging 4.5 assists per contest in 2014-15.
Wednesday marks the first-ever meeting between Lehigh and DePaul.
Lehigh returns to action on Sunday when it hosts Penn State Mont Alto at 2 p.m. in Stabler Arena.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content, team updates and more.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Searching for its first win of the season, the Lehigh men's basketball team hits the road for a Thanksgiving Eve showdown at DePaul. Wednesday night's game tips off at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. locally) and will air live nation-wide on Fox Sports 1. This will be a homecoming for sophomore Miles Simelton, who is from just outside Chicago in Oswego, Illinois. DePaul marks Lehigh's second Big East foe in the first five games after opening the season against Villanova at the PPL Center in Allentown.
The Mountain Hawks have faced a challenging schedule to begin the year with three of their four opponents so far coming off 20-win seasons. The fourth, Rider, is a perennially strong program out of the MAAC. Lehigh is coming off a 54-44 loss to Columbia on Sunday as the Mountain Hawks struggled offensively at home for a second straight game. Lehigh shot just 30 percent from the floor and did not hit a three-pointer for the first time since Jan. 26, 2011 against Bucknell, finishing 0-for-13 from long range in each of those occasions.
Sophomore Tim Kempton continued his strong play on Sunday, posting 15 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and ninth of his career. He is now averaging a double-double on the season with averages of 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds thus far. Freshman Kahron Ross also reached double-figure points for a second straight game, scoring 10 points while adding four assists and three rebounds. He was recognized with Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors on Monday while Kempton garnered honorable mention recognition.
Lehigh is vying for its first win against a Big East team since a 76-71 win at Rutgers on Nov. 26, 2008. The Scarlet Knights are now members of the Big Ten. The Mountain Hawks' last win over a BCS conference foe came during the 2012 NCAA Tournament, a 75-70 win over Duke.
DePaul enters Wednesday with an 0-2 record, having not played since an 80-62 win over Drake on Nov. 18. DePaul has only played two games this season, defeating UIC 72-71 and Drake 80-62, both at home. The Blue Demons finished last season 12-21 and 3-15 in the Big East, but they did upset Georgetown in the Big East Tournament. DePaul features a relatively young and inexperienced team with two sophomores among its starting five. The team lost its two leading scorers from 2013-14 in Cleveland Melvin (16.7 ppg) and Brandon Young (16.3 ppg). Billy Garrett is the leading returning scorer and leads the way so far this season (12.4 ppg last year and 13.5 ppg so far this year). Tommy Hamilton also averaged 7.7 points last year and is at 13.0 so far this season. Hamilton is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game to lead the way while Garrett is averaging 4.5 assists per contest in 2014-15.
Wednesday marks the first-ever meeting between Lehigh and DePaul.
Lehigh returns to action on Sunday when it hosts Penn State Mont Alto at 2 p.m. in Stabler Arena.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content, team updates and more.
| Date: | November 26, 2014 |
| Opponent: | DePaul Blue Demons |
| Tip-off: | 8:00 PM ET |
| Arena/Capacity: | Allstate Arena/18,500 |
| Location: | Rosemont, Ill. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 0-4, 0-0 Patriot League |
| DePaul's Record: | 2-0, 0-0 Big East |
| Series: | First Meeting |
| Radio: | Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon and Greg Falkenbach '72. Pregame coverage gets underway at 7:30 PM ET |
| Television: | Fox Sports 1 |
| Internet Video: | None |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | DePaul Official Website |
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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