Saturday, February 15
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
13-14, 6-8PL
67
vs
72
Holy Cross
16-10, 10-4PL
1
2
F
Holy Cross
41
31
72
Lehigh
37
30
67
Mountain Hawks drop 72-67 final to Holy Cross
2/15/2014 5:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team hung close the entire game, but could never get over the hump as Holy Cross topped the Mountain Hawks, 72-67 on Saturday afternoon in Stabler Arena. Freshman Tim Kempton led the way with 17 points, 10 coming in the second half, while senior Mackey McKnight finished with 16 points, nine assists and four rebounds. Holy Cross came out firing, hitting eight of its first 10 three-pointers to build a lead that the Mountain Hawks could never overcome. Lehigh will look to bounce back when it hosts Navy on Wednesday evening.
"One of the biggest keys was that Holy Cross came in at a blistering pace," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "They knocked down every shot. Some of their shots were too comfortable and we didn't necessarily execute our game plan as much as we needed. We had to adjust other elements of our game plan to try and cover up the excellent play they established on the onset."
Kempton finished an efficient 6-of-8 from the field while adding three rebounds, an assist, block and steal.
"Tim Kempton did a very nice job of establishing an interior presence," said Reed. "He showed a big target, our guards were patient enough to give him the basketball in positions that he needed. Even when he was unselfish and threw the ball back out to the perimeter player, he often reestablished position deeper in the post."
Sophomore Jesse Chuku added 10 points, all coming in the first half, along with seven rebounds and two blocks. Freshman Miles Simelton poured in a career-high eight points on 3-of-5 shooting and 2-of-2 from three-point range.
All five Holy Cross starters reached double-figure points in a balanced effort. The Crusaders have now won four straight and nine of their last 10 games.
The teams were on fire in the early going, hitting their first eight three-point attempts (five from Holy Cross and three from Lehigh). An Eric Green jumper gave Holy Cross a 10-5 lead, but Chuku knocked down a trey to pull within 10-8 with 17:08 left in the first half.
The Crusaders eventually opened a 19-11 lead behind a trio of threes, but Chuku answered with another trey to pull within five (19-14) with 14:32 on the clock.
A Corey Schaefer jumper pulled the Mountain Hawks within three, but Holy Cross went on an 11-3 run to take its largest lead of the game (11). An Anthony Thompson trey, Holy Cross' second three in 32 seconds, gave the Crusaders a 30-19 lead with 9:35 left in the first half
The Mountain Hawks quickly answered with an 8-0 run behind threes from Simelton and Chuku. McKnight then finished a driving layup to pull within 30-27 with 8:08 to go.
The Crusaders went back up by five, but a McKnight layup and Chuku dunk off a McKnight feed pulled Lehigh within one (32-31) with 5:26 on the clock. The teams traded baskets the rest of the half as a Dave Dudzinski three gave Holy Cross a 41-37 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Lehigh shot 42 percent in the first half (14-of-30) and 86 percent from long distance (6-of-17). Holy Cross shot 42 percent (14-of-33) and 64 percent from three (9-of-14). The Crusaders held a 20-16 edge on the glass. Chuku led the way with 10 first-half points.
The Crusaders came out by scoring the first six second-half points to reopen a double-digit, 47-37 lead with 17:57 remaining.
Lehigh responded with five straight points and eight of the next 10 as Kempton converted a pair of three-point plays in less than a minute to pull the Mountain Hawks within three (48-45) with 15:30 on the clock.
The Crusaders responded by scoring six of the next nine points to take a 54-48 lead following a Green layup with 12:38 to go, but Lehigh wouldn't go away, using four straight points from Kempton (coming 2:22 apart) to pull within 54-52 with 10:16 remaining.
Holy Cross went on to open an eight-point, 63-55 lead, but the Mountain Hawks scored five quick points in 29 seconds, using an Austin Price three and Justin Goldsborough fastbreak layup to pull within 63-60 with 4:10 still remaining.
From there, neither team scored until less than a minute remaining as Justin Burrell knocked down a long jumper to give Holy Cross a 65-60 lead with 30 seconds remaining, forcing a Lehigh timeout. The Mountain Hawks could never pull any closer than three as the Crusaders hit all but one free throw down the stretch for the 72-67 final.
Lehigh shot 44 percent from the field (26-of-59) and 50 percent from three-point range (9-of-18). The Crusaders shot 42 percent (24-of-57) and 45 percent from long distance (9-of-20). The Mountain Hawks held a 36-35 edge on the glass.
"I thought Mackey's floor game, particularly in the first half, of distribution and taking care of the ball, was very important to get us back into a competitive situation," said Reed. "We continued to close the gap in the second half, but we never seemed to get over the top."
Lehigh remains home to host Navy on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before heading to archrival Lafayette next Sunday (Feb. 23).
Tickets are available online, including a print-at-home option, or by calling the ticket office at 610-7LU-GAME (610-758-4263). Individual game tickets are only five dollars (in advance) and season tickets are also available.
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Team Stats
HC
LEHIGH
FG%
.421
.441
3FG%
.450
.500
FT%
.714
.750
RB
35
36
TO
8
12
STL
3
2
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
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