Wednesday, February 12
Washington, D.C.
6:30 PM
Lehigh University
at
American
Lehigh heads to our nation’s capital for Wednesday showdown with American
2/11/2014 3:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | Watch Live | Listen Live | Live Stats
BETHLEHEM, Pa. -The Lehigh men's basketball team heads to our nation's capital on Wednesday to face the American Eagles. Opening tip is now set for 6:30 p.m., moved an hour early due to the impending snowstorm. The Mountain Hawks look to avenge a heartbreaking two-point loss to American in January. Lehigh has won five of its last six games and stands in sole possession of fifth place in the Patriot League standings. The Eagles are tied with Boston University for first.
Sophomore Jesse Chuku scored Lehigh's first 10 points on Saturday against Loyola to help spark the offense in the early going. The Mountain Hawks never trailed, on their way to a 66-52 victory. Lehigh has won three straight home games after dropping three in a row. Chuku finished with a team-high 15 points while freshman Tim Kempton added 14 points and eight rebounds. For his efforts, he was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the third straight time and fifth time this season.
Senior Mackey McKnight enjoyed a strong all-around game with seven points, a career-high 10 rebounds and six assists. McKnight moved to third place in Patriot League history with 536 career assists. He also moved from 18th to 17th in school history in career points (1,243), passing Bob Fortune. Junior Stefan Cvrkalj and sophomore Justin Goldsborough added nine points. Lehigh struggled from the field, shooting just 33 percent (17-of-51), but the Mountain Hawks' defense impressed, allowing Loyola to shooting just 33 percent as well (19-of-57). Lehigh dominated the glass, holding a 45-30 advantage. The plus-15 margin marked a season best.
Lehigh improved to 6-6 in Patriot League play, standing in fifth place. The Mountain Hawks are one game ahead of Loyola and Bucknell (both 5-7) and two games behind Army and Holy Cross who are tied for third with 8-4 league marks. The top four seeds earn home court in the Patriot League Quarterfinals while the top six avoid a first-round game. The No. 7 seed hosts the No. 10 and No. 8 hosts No. 9 with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals.
Predicted ninth in the preseason Patriot League poll, American has been on fire - winning 11 straight game (including 10 straight league contests) spanning Dec. 29 through Feb. 1. Loyola snapped the streak last Wednesday before Colgate also beat the Eagles on Saturday. American was the last time other than Lehigh or Bucknell to win the Patriot League (in 2009).
American's 65-63 win in January snapped a three-game Lehigh winning streak in the all-time series. The Mountain Hawks have still won seven of their last 11 against the Eagles to pull within 23-18 in the all-time series. Lehigh won last year's game in Washington D.C. 63-57. American won the season prior at home (71-62) on Feb. 9, 2012. That marked Lehigh's final loss until the NCAA Third Round against Xavier. The Mountain Hawks bounced back from that defeat by winning nine straight games capped off by the historic 75-70 win over Duke in the NCAA Tournament. Lehigh and American first met during the 1960-61 season, a 71-61 American victory. Lehigh's first win came in 1964-65 by a 63-47 final.
American began Patriot League play with a perfect 10-0 record, but the Eagles have dropped two straight - at Loyola and vs. Colgate. American is 7-2 at home, falling to Brown and Colgate. Jesse Reed leads the team in scoring (14.0 points per game) along with 4.2 rebounds. John Schoof averages 12.6 points, Tony Wroblicky 12.2 and a team-high 7.1 boards and Darius Gardner 11.7 points and team-leading 4.3 assists. The Eagles shoot an impressive 50.7 percent from the field and have the league's best defense, allowing just 60.4 points per game. American's 65.8 points per contest is ninth of 10 teams.
Lehigh returns home next Saturday (Feb. 15) to host Holy Cross at 2 p.m. and Navy next Wednesday (Feb. 19) at 7 p.m. Tickets are available online, including a print-at-home option, or by calling the ticket office at 610-7LU-GAME (610-758-4263).
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content, team updates and more.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. -The Lehigh men's basketball team heads to our nation's capital on Wednesday to face the American Eagles. Opening tip is now set for 6:30 p.m., moved an hour early due to the impending snowstorm. The Mountain Hawks look to avenge a heartbreaking two-point loss to American in January. Lehigh has won five of its last six games and stands in sole possession of fifth place in the Patriot League standings. The Eagles are tied with Boston University for first.
Sophomore Jesse Chuku scored Lehigh's first 10 points on Saturday against Loyola to help spark the offense in the early going. The Mountain Hawks never trailed, on their way to a 66-52 victory. Lehigh has won three straight home games after dropping three in a row. Chuku finished with a team-high 15 points while freshman Tim Kempton added 14 points and eight rebounds. For his efforts, he was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the third straight time and fifth time this season.
Senior Mackey McKnight enjoyed a strong all-around game with seven points, a career-high 10 rebounds and six assists. McKnight moved to third place in Patriot League history with 536 career assists. He also moved from 18th to 17th in school history in career points (1,243), passing Bob Fortune. Junior Stefan Cvrkalj and sophomore Justin Goldsborough added nine points. Lehigh struggled from the field, shooting just 33 percent (17-of-51), but the Mountain Hawks' defense impressed, allowing Loyola to shooting just 33 percent as well (19-of-57). Lehigh dominated the glass, holding a 45-30 advantage. The plus-15 margin marked a season best.
Lehigh improved to 6-6 in Patriot League play, standing in fifth place. The Mountain Hawks are one game ahead of Loyola and Bucknell (both 5-7) and two games behind Army and Holy Cross who are tied for third with 8-4 league marks. The top four seeds earn home court in the Patriot League Quarterfinals while the top six avoid a first-round game. The No. 7 seed hosts the No. 10 and No. 8 hosts No. 9 with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals.
Predicted ninth in the preseason Patriot League poll, American has been on fire - winning 11 straight game (including 10 straight league contests) spanning Dec. 29 through Feb. 1. Loyola snapped the streak last Wednesday before Colgate also beat the Eagles on Saturday. American was the last time other than Lehigh or Bucknell to win the Patriot League (in 2009).
American's 65-63 win in January snapped a three-game Lehigh winning streak in the all-time series. The Mountain Hawks have still won seven of their last 11 against the Eagles to pull within 23-18 in the all-time series. Lehigh won last year's game in Washington D.C. 63-57. American won the season prior at home (71-62) on Feb. 9, 2012. That marked Lehigh's final loss until the NCAA Third Round against Xavier. The Mountain Hawks bounced back from that defeat by winning nine straight games capped off by the historic 75-70 win over Duke in the NCAA Tournament. Lehigh and American first met during the 1960-61 season, a 71-61 American victory. Lehigh's first win came in 1964-65 by a 63-47 final.
American began Patriot League play with a perfect 10-0 record, but the Eagles have dropped two straight - at Loyola and vs. Colgate. American is 7-2 at home, falling to Brown and Colgate. Jesse Reed leads the team in scoring (14.0 points per game) along with 4.2 rebounds. John Schoof averages 12.6 points, Tony Wroblicky 12.2 and a team-high 7.1 boards and Darius Gardner 11.7 points and team-leading 4.3 assists. The Eagles shoot an impressive 50.7 percent from the field and have the league's best defense, allowing just 60.4 points per game. American's 65.8 points per contest is ninth of 10 teams.
Lehigh returns home next Saturday (Feb. 15) to host Holy Cross at 2 p.m. and Navy next Wednesday (Feb. 19) at 7 p.m. Tickets are available online, including a print-at-home option, or by calling the ticket office at 610-7LU-GAME (610-758-4263).
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content, team updates and more.
| Date: | February 12, 2014 |
| Opponent: | American Eagles |
| Tip-off: | 6:30 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Bender Arena/4,500 |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 13-12, 6-6 Patriot League |
| American's Record: | 14-9, 10-2 Patriot League |
| Series: | American leads, 23-18 |
| Radio: | Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:00 PM |
| Television: | None |
| Internet Video: | Patriot League Network |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | American Official Website |
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