Sunday, December 28
Baltimore, Md.
5:00 pm
Lehigh University
6-5
58
at
55
University of Maryland Baltimore County
2-10
1
2
F
Lehigh
32
26
58
UMBC Retrievers
31
24
55
Lehigh escapes UMBC with 58-55 victory
12/28/2014 7:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BALTIMORE, Md. - It wasn't always pretty, but the Lehigh men's basketball team came up with the defensive stops when it needed them, escaping Baltimore with a 58-55 win over UMBC in a game that came down to the final seconds on Sunday evening. The Mountain Hawks forced three turnovers in the final eight seconds to preserve the victory along with holding UMBC scoreless for eight minutes after the Retrievers took their largest lead at 52-46. The win is Lehigh's sixth in the last seven games heading into Patriot League play which opens on Wednesday against Colgate.
"There are a number of circumstances that went into today's game," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "There was a five-day break for the holidays; we had guys all over the country. You're out of your element and out of your flow. However, the last thing we want to do is make any excuses because we expect more. We had the opportunity to practice these last two days and we should have affected and influenced the game at a higher level, particularly in the first half."
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For a second straight game, both junior Justin Goldsborough and sophomore Tim Kempton posted double-doubles. Goldsborough had 14 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double in the last four games (since entering the starting lineup) while Kempton scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Goldsborough added three blocks and two steals. Sophomore Austin Price also added 10 points in the victory. Freshman scored eight points, along with two clutch free throws in the final seconds, while dishing six assists.
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The defense was the story, however, as Lehigh forced UMBC to shoot just 29 percent from the field (16-of-56), although the Retrievers knocked down 50 percent of their three-pointers (10-of-20). Wayne Sparrow led UMBC with 24 points, including 4-of-6 from three-point range.
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"I was pleased that we were able to get stops at critical times," said Reed. "UMBC shot the ball well from the three-point line and also from the free throw line, but for a key stretch, they went dry and we were able to rebound the basketball to close out the possessions in an effective way. Holding our opponent to 29 percent continues our pattern and our emphasis of being a very strong defensive-minded team. Hopefully, we'll be able to do so moving forward at an even higher level than we did tonight."
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UMBC scored the first four points, including a basket just seconds into the game off the opening tip. Lehigh responded with four straight points behind a Kempton post move and Price jumper to even the score at four with 16:48 left in the first half.
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UMBC responded to take the lead, but Lehigh scored four straight points as two Brandon Alston free throws made it 10-8 Mountain Hawks with 12:57 on the clock.
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A three-pointer by Sparrow helped give the Retrievers a 13-10 lead with 12:09 on the clock, but Lehigh scored the next four points behind a Ross driving layup and long transition jumper from Kempton to make it 14-13 Lehigh with 10:43 on the first-half clock.
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After a UMBC basket tied the score at 18, sophomore Miles Simelton knocked down a three-pointer to give Lehigh a 21-18 lead. The Retrievers responded with an 8-0 run as consecutive threes forced a Lehigh timeout. Houston added a pair of free throws to give UMBC its largest lead of the first half (26-21) with 5:36 on the clock.
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Lehigh answered with a 7-1 run, four of the points from sophomore John Ross Glover and a three-pointer from Price, to help the Mountain Hawks retake a 28-27 lead with 3:37 left in the half.
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The Mountain Hawks tallied the next four points to extend their run to 11-1 after a pair of Ross free throws with 1:25 remaining to make it 32-27 Mountain Hawks. UMBC answered with the last four points of the first half to pull within 32-31 after 20 minutes.
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Goldsborough led the way with eight first-half points to go with four rebounds while sophomore Price had seven. Lehigh shot 43 percent in the first half (12-of-28) and 33 percent from three-point range (2-of-6) while UMBC shot 28 percent (8-of-29) and 67 percent from long distance (4-of-6). The Mountain Hawks held a 21-18 edge in rebounds.
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The Retrievers scored the first five second-half points, but Kempton scored Lehigh's first points with 15:59 on the clock, a 13:18 to pull Lehigh within 36-34.
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A corner three from Ben Grace gave UMBC a 39-37 lead, but Goldsborough responded with four straight points. On the second field goal, he took an alley-oop feed near the basket and finished the layup near the basket to make it 41-39 Mountain Hawks, forcing a UMBC timeout with 13:18 left in the second half.
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An Alston three-pointer gave Lehigh a 44-41 lead, but the Retrievers answered with a trey on the following possession. UMBC went on to open its largest lead of the game at 52-46 following consecutive Sparrow treys with 8:36 on the clock.
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Lehigh answered with an 8-0 run, beginning with a Kempton spin move and basket followed by a steal and Price transition three to pull within 52-51 with just under seven minutes remaining. Just less than two minutes later, Kempton knocked down a free throw then Ross had a big steal and layup to give the Mountain Hawks a 54-52 lead with 4:26 left in the second half.
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After no scoring for either side over the next 4:02, Kempton added a big layup with 59 seconds remaining. With 23 seconds on the clock, Schaefer missed the front end of one-and-one, but Goldsborough and Schaefer helped force a held ball, giving the ball back to Lehigh. UMBC forced a turnover off the ensuing inbounds, but on the inbounds after that, the Retrievers' player stepped out of bounds. Eventually, Ross was fouled, knocked down both free throws and Price made a steal off the ensuing inbounds and ran out the clock, preserving the 58-55 final.
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"Ultimately the messaging (to our team) was that our team is capable of more and we want to play at a higher level to ensure that we don't have these situations moving forward," said Reed.
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Lehigh shot 44 percent from the field (21-of-48) and 33 percent from three-point range (4-of-12). UMBC shot 29 percent (16-of-56) and 50 percent from long distance (10-of-20). The Mountain Hawks held a 37-34 edge on the boards.
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The Mountain Hawks will return home on Wednesday to host Colgate for their Patriot League opener. Opening tipoff on New Year's Eve is set for 2 p.m.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
UMBC
FG%
.438
.286
3FG%
.333
.500
FT%
.750
.867
RB
37
34
TO
15
15
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballC/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
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