Wednesday, February 26
Lewisburg, Pa.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
14-16, 7-10PL
61
at
65
Bucknell
15-13, 10-7
1
2
F
Lehigh
28
33
61
Bucknell
29
36
65
Mountain Hawks fall short at Bucknell, 65-61
2/26/2014 9:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team took an eight-point first-half lead, but Bucknell responded to lead the entire second half as the Bison downed the Mountain Hawks 65-61 on Wednesday in Sojka Pavilion. Sophomore Jesse Chuku led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds while senior Mackey McKnight dished six assists to become Lehigh's all-time leader in career assists.
"We had miscues at key times," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Ultimately, that was a tell-tale sign. I also thought our offensive execution at the beginning of the second half was very poor. We squandered opportunities there. We didn't convert on the offensive end the way we needed to. Give Bucknell a great deal of credit. We continued to battle and fight."
With a 7-10 league record, the Mountain Hawks remain in sixth place in the Patriot League standings and would clinch a top-six seed with a win on Saturday, Lafayette loss (at Army), Boston University win (at Holy Cross) or American loss (vs. Bucknell).
Chuku shot 5-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range, adding four blocks and two assists.
"Jesse was a bright spot for us," said Reed. "He gave us an opportunity to stretch the defense; he shot the ball well. He made some key blocks that really helped us."
Freshman Austin Price added 11 points and three steals while classmate Tim Kempton had 10 points and eight rebounds.
McKnight dished his fifth assist of the game and 567th of his career with 12:48 left in the second half to pass Marquis Hall and become Lehigh's all-time leader in career helpers. The pass led to a three-pointer from junior Stefan Cvrkalj, which pulled the Mountain Hawks within two (42-40). McKnight currently stands second in Patriot League history in career assists.
Cameron Ayers led Bucknell with 17 points.
Lehigh scored the game's first five points behind a Chuku three-pointer and Kempton basket with less than a minute into the first half. Bucknell answered with five straight, but the Mountain Hawks scored the next five behind a Price banked-in three-pointer and Kempton offensive rebound and putback with 16:38 on the clock.
After a Dom Hoffman, Lehigh responded with six of the next seven points to open an eight-point, 16-8 lead following a Chuku three-pointer with 14:00 remaining.
A Justin Goldsborough layup gave the Mountain Hawks a 20-12 advantage, but the Bison scored four in a row as a Bucknell steal lead to a Steven Kaspar fastbreak layup which pulled the Bison within four (20-16) with 8:45 on the clock.
Lehigh's offense struggled, scoring only four points in an 8:46 span before a McKnight layup gave the Mountain Hawks a 26-25 lead with 1:47 left in the first half. Ayers had hit a three on the previous possession to give the Bison their first lead of the game.
A Shane Whitfield layup gave the Mountain Hawks a 28-26 lead, but Chris Hass hit a three-pointer with time expiring in the first half as the Bison led 29-28 after 20 minutes of play.
Chuku, Kempton and Price each had six first-half points to lead the Mountain Hawks. McKnight added four points and three assists. The Mountain Hawks shot 41 percent in the first half (12-of-29) and 50 percent from three-point range (4-of-8). Bucknell shot 32 percent (12-of-38) and 27 percent from long distance (3-of-11). The Bison held a 27-18 edge on the glass.
Chuku opened the second-half scoring, but Bucknell answered with five straight behind an Ayers three-point play and Cory Starkey layup to make it 34-30.
The Bison opened a five-point lead, but Cvrkalj pulled Lehigh within two (42-40), knocking down a three-pointer from McKnight's record-setting assist.
The Bucknell lead reached six (49-43), but Lehigh answered with a 6-1 run behind a pair of Chuku free throws and four straight points from junior Corey Schaefer to pull within 50-49 with just under eight minutes remaining.
Bucknell answered with eight of the next 10 points to take a 58-51 lead with 4:14 to go.
Lehigh wouldn't go away quietly as the Mountain Hawks responded with an 8-3 run as a Price three-point play cut Bucknell's lead to 61-59 with 2:02 remaining. However, that's as close as Lehigh would come. The Mountain Hawks had a chance to tie down just three with 19 seconds remaining, but a turnover gave the ball back to the Bison and Ayers hit two free throws for the 65-61 final.
Lehigh shot 37 percent from the field (22-of-69) and 39 percent from three-point range (7-of-18). Bucknell finished at 33 percent (22-of-66) and 25 percent from long distance (5-of-20). The Bison held a 49-34 edge on the glass.
The Mountain Hawks wrap up the regular season on Saturday when they host Colgate at 2 p.m. on Senior Day. The Patriot League Tournament kicks off next week.
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
BUCKNELL
FG%
.373
.333
3FG%
.389
.250
FT%
.909
.696
RB
34
49
TO
11
10
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
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