Wednesday, February 12
Washington, D.C.
6:30 PM
Lehigh University
(13-13, 6-7PL)
44
at
64
American
(15-9, 11-2PL)
1
2
F
Lehigh
20
24
44
American
27
37
64
Turnovers hurt Mountain Hawks in 64-44 loss at American
2/12/2014 8:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Lehigh men's basketball team had a season-high 21 turnovers, which proved costly as American took advantage to down the Mountain Hawks 64-44 on Wednesday evening in Bender Arena. Freshman Austin Price provided 20 of Lehigh's points, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range. The Mountain Hawks (13-13, 6-7 Patriot League) will look to bounce back when they host Holy Cross on Saturday at 2 p.m.
"I think 14 of the first 17 points in the second half were off of turnovers and our ineffectiveness at that point, which was ultimately the difference in the game," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "American did a very nice job of condensing and collapsing. They collapsed on our interior attack and collapsed on any dribble penetration. American consistently had three to four people with feet in the paint, yet we only had eight three-point attempts. That tells you a little bit of their defensive game plan and our ineffectiveness of making the right reads."
Freshmen combined for Lehigh's first 18 points as Price had 14 and Tim Kempton 14. Kempton and senior Mackey McKnight finished with six points apiece while junior Stefan Cvrkalj and sophomore Justin Goldsborough had three each.
"It was nice to see Austin play with aggressiveness," said Reed. "There were opportunities for him to shoot jump shots and he took advantage of those, but on hard closeouts, he also put the ball on the floor effectively with some nice dribble penetration moves. He was effective with some of his finishes."
Four Eagles players posted double-figure points, led by 17 from Darius Gardner.
After Tony Wroblicky hit a pair of free throws, Lehigh's freshmen answered with a 7-0 run behind layups from Price and Kempton, then a Price three, to make it 7-2 with 16:56 on the clock.
The Eagles responded with an 8-0 run to take a 10-7 lead following a Kyle Kager fastbreak dunk with 14:38 left in the first half.
Price scored the next five points as a three and short jumper made it 12-10 with just over 12 minutes left in the first. Kempton and Jesse Reed traded baskets before Price answered with four straight points, using an offensive rebound off his own miss to give Lehigh an 18-12 lead with 8:32 on the clock.
From there, the Eagles went on a big run, scoring 13 straight points to take a 25-18 advantage following a Wroblicky jumper with 3:57 left in the first half.
McKnight ended a scoreless drought that exceeded six minutes, but a Gardner layup with 1:26 to go made it 27-20 American at the half.
Lehigh shot 38 percent in the first half (9-of-24) and 67 percent from long range (2-of-3). The Eagles shot 42 percent (11-of-26) and 40 percent from three (2-of-5). The Mountain Hawks held a 17-15 edge on the glass. Thirteen first-half turnovers hurt Lehigh. Price scored 14 first-half points behind 6-of-10 shooting and a perfect 2-of-2 from three-point range.
Price got the second-half scoring started with a steal and layup to pull within five, but American scored 12 of the next 14 points to take a 16-point, 39-23 lead following a Reed three-point play with 15:32 left in the second half.
The Eagles' lead reached 19 following a John Schoof trey that made it 44-25 with 12:04 on the clock.
Lehigh began to inch closer, scoring seven of the next nine points behind a Cvrkalj three and free throws from Price and McKnight. That made it 46-32 with 8:20 left in the second half. The Mountain Hawks eventually pulled within 10 as a Chuku putback and two Kempton free throws made it 46-36 with 6:28 on the clock, giving Lehigh an 11-2 run.
American had an answer, going up 15 as a Schoof three made it 51-36 with 5:26 remaining. The Mountain Hawks trimmed two points from that deficit, but that's as close as they would come. The Eagles extended their lead in the closing minutes, and Lehigh emptied its bench as American pulled away for the 64-44 final.
Lehigh finished at 35 percent from the field (15-of-43) while American shot 49 percent (22-of-45). The Mountain Hawks were 38 percent from long range (3-of-8), as were the Eagles (5-of-13). Rebounds were tied at 27. American had 17 turnovers to go with Lehigh's 21.
Lehigh returns home to host Holy Cross on Saturday 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).
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
AMERICAN
FG%
.349
.489
3FG%
.375
.385
FT%
.733
.833
RB
27
27
TO
21
17
STL
9
14
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
3
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
0
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