Saturday, December 6
Brooklyn, N.Y.
2:00 pm
Lehigh University
4-4
80
at
76
LIU Brooklyn
0-6
1
2
F
Lehigh
34
46
80
LIU Brooklyn
31
45
76
All-around effort leads Lehigh past LIU Brooklyn, 80-76
12/6/2014 5:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The Lehigh men's basketball team ended the first half on an 11-0 run and the Mountain Hawks didn't trail the rest of the way as they won their fourth straight game, 80-76, at LIU Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon. Five Mountain Hawks reached double-figure points, led by freshman Kahron Ross who scored a career-high 19 points, including 13 in the second half and four free throws in the final 11 seconds to ice the victory. Junior Justin Goldsborough added 13 points and ten rebounds for his first-career double-double and sophomore Miles Simelton also scored a career-high ten points, eight coming in the first half.
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"Our shooting percentage wasn't the highest in the second half, but being able to convert from the free throw line was critical," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "I thought Justin stepped up with confidence and made a number of shots. You've got a floor general, although a freshman, in Kahron Ross who stepped up and made shots with confidence. I was really pleased that Austin (Price) could make those two in a pressure situation where there was still enough time in the game for their foul tactic to potentially take hold."
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Goldsborough's impact went far beyond just points and rebounds, also finishing with four assists, three blocks and a steal.
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"I thought Justin was sensational," said Reed. "He came to play right away at a time when we were struggling to adjust to LIU Brooklyn and the environment here. This is a loud building. It lends itself to confusion. LIU Brooklyn was an aggressive team and looked to attack immediately. I thought Justin helped us establish ourselves. He had some key blocks early, some key rebounds and established himself early in the game and maintained that focus and presence throughout."
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Sophomore Austin Price added 11 points while senior Corey Schaefer had 10, seven coming in the second half. Four LIU Brooklyn players also reached double-figure points.
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The teams traded baskets in the early going. With the score tied at four, LIU Brooklyn created separation with a 13-3 run, which included three consecutive three-pointers. A pair of Martin Hermannsson free throws gave LIU Brooklyn a 17-7 lead with 13:48 on the first-half clock, forcing an early Lehigh timeout.
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The Mountain Hawks answered with the next six points behind a pair of threes of their own. A Simelton fastbreak trey followed by a Stefan Cvrkalj corner three quickly pulled Lehigh within 17-13, forcing a Blackbirds timeout barely over one minute later.
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An alley-oop to Landon Atterberry gave LIU Brooklyn a 21-15 lead, igniting the crowd and forcing a Mountain Hawks' timeout. Lehigh wasn't fazed as a Price three pulled Lehigh within 23-21. The Blackbirds responded by scoring eight of the next 10 points to take a 31-23 advantage with 3:32 left in the first half.
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The Mountain Hawks answered in a big way, ending the half on an 11-0 run which began with layups from Price and Goldsborough and concluded with a Schaefer three and Ross layup to make it 34-31 after 20 minutes of play.
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The Mountain Hawks shot 45 percent from the field in the first half (14-of-31) while knocking down 46 percent of their threes (6-of-13). LIU Brooklyn shot 40 percent (12-of-30) and 25 percent from long range (4-of-16). The Blackbirds held a 21-14 edge in rebounds. Simelton led the Mountain Hawks with eight first-half points on 3-of-5 shooting.
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The teams went back and forth early in the second half with Lehigh's lead hovering between three and five. Midway through the half, the Mountain Hawks scored five straight points behind a Schaefer fastbreak jumper and Cvrkalj corner three to take a 54-46 lead with 10:09 left in the second half.
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A pair of Simelton free throws and a Schaefer jumper extended Lehigh's run to 9-0, giving the Mountain Hawks a 58-46 lead with 8:58 remaining.
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LIU Brooklyn clawed back, scoring 10 of the next 14 points as a Hermannson trey pulled the Blackbirds within 62-58 with 5:19 on the clock, forcing a Mountain Hawk timeout.
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Lehigh responded with the next six points, all from the free throw line, to take a 68-58 lead with 4:19 remaining. The Blackbirds pulled back within five at 68-63 then 70-65 with 2:37 to go, but the Mountain Hawks continued to knock down their free throws. Lehigh was 10-for-10 from the charity stripe over the final 1:34, six coming from Ross, two from Goldsborough and two from Price. Goldsborough had a big point-blank block at the rim with 1:26 remaining then grabbed a tough rebound in the final minute to help Lehigh wrap up the 80-76 victory.
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The Mountain Hawks finished at 39 percent from the field (22-of-56) and 31 percent from three-point range (8-of-26). LIU Brooklyn shot 40 percent (25-of-62) and 37 percent from long distance (10-of-27). The Blackbirds won the battle of the boards, 41-36.
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The Mountain Hawks will break for final exams and return to game action on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at Quinnipiac before traveling to Arizona State for a game on the 20th.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
LIU
FG%
.393
.403
3FG%
.308
.370
FT%
.875
.696
RB
36
41
TO
11
15
STL
8
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
8
Pts
13
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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