Saturday, January 10
Stabler Arena
2:00 pm
Lehigh University
7-8, 1-3PL
60
vs
65
Loyola
6-9, 2-2PL
1
2
F
Loyola
33
32
65
Lehigh
23
37
60
Mountain Hawks unable to come back in 65-60 loss to Loyola
1/10/2015 5:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team trailed by 16 in the first half then responded to take a second-half lead, but Loyola knocked down a trio of three-pointers in 1:04 to turn a two-point Lehigh lead into a five-point Greyhounds' advantage as they topped the Mountain Hawks, 65-60 on Saturday afternoon in Stabler Arena. Sophomore Tim Kempton led the way with 14 points and eight rebounds while freshman Kahron Ross also had 11 points, a career-high six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
"Obviously disappointed with the outcome," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "I thought it took us about 33 minutes to overcome what we had done in the beginning to middle of the first half. We showed some resiliency coming back, but being down 16 points really put is in a position where we had to play near perfect basketball. We needed all the momentum plays to go our way when it's difficult to play perfectly, and those momentum plays did not go our way and so stuck with this result."
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Junior Justin Goldsborough finished with 11 points, six rebounds and a career-high six blocks as he was a force on both ends of the floor. Sophomore Austin Price added ten points.
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Eric Laster led Loyola with 17 points while Tyler Hubbard scored 16 points, all in the first half.
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After the teams traded baskets in the first minute, Loyola scored five straight points as a Hubbard trey made it 7-2 Greyhounds with 18:19 left in the first half. Kempton went on to score a pair of baskets in a 1:40 span to pull within 10-4, but the Greyhounds scored the next four to take a 14-6 advantage.
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From there, both offenses went cold as neither team scored for the next 3:32. The drought was snapped by a Brandon Alston layup, but the Greyhounds scored the next five points and went on to open a 25-10 lead with 7:21 left in the first half. Lehigh's offense responded by coming alive, scoring the next five points as a Price offensive rebound and layup pulled his squad within 25-15 with 6:15 on the clock.
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The Greyhounds responded by going on an 8-2 run to take their largest lead of 16 (33-17) with 3:20 on the clock. However, Lehigh didn't allow a Loyola point the rest of the half, ending the half on a 6-0 run which included four points from Jesse Chuku, to pull within 33-23 at the half.
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Kempton led the team with six first-half points while Price had five. Lehigh shot 37 percent (10-of-27) and did not hit a three-pointer (0-of-5) while Loyola shot 50 percent (13-of-26) and 71 percent from long range (5-of-7). Hubbard led Loyola with 16 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting and 4-of-4 from three-point range.
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Lehigh scored four quick second-half points to extend its run to 10-0 as a Price fast break layup pulled the Mountain Hawks within 33-27, forcing a Greyhounds' timeout with 19:03 on the clock.
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A Ross fast break corner three, Lehigh's first three-pointer of the game, pulled the Mountain Hawks within 35-32 with 15:42 left in the second half. Loyola responded with the next six points capped off by a Cam Gregory three-point play with 13:33 remaining.
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The margin extended to nine, but Lehigh scored five straight points behind a Miles Simelton three-pointer and Kempton layup to pull within 41-37 with 11:01 left in the second half. Loyola reopened a 46-39 lead after a Danzel Brito three-pointer, but it took the Mountain Hawks just 1:32 to tie the score at 46. The run began with a Ross layup and included a Goldsborough layup, Kempton layup and Kempton free throw.
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After Loyola retook a 48-46 lead, a Simelton steal and fast break dunk followed by a Kempton offensive rebound and put back, gave the Mountain Hawks their first lead of the game at 50-48. Lehigh appeared in control over the ensuing minutes, but couldn't open more than a two-point lead. Loyola capitalized by tallying a six-point possession as an off-ball foul was called while Andre Walker made a three-pointer. The Greyhounds kept possession and knocked down another trey to take a four-point lead.
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Ross added two free throws, but Laster knocked down another three on the ensuing possession to make it 57-52 Greyhounds with 3:53 remaining.
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Lehigh pulled as close as one (61-60) after a Stefan Cvrkalj three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining. The Mountain Hawks had the ball down three in the final seconds, but a backcourt violation gave the Greyhounds the ball back, and they knocked down two free throws for the 65-60 final.
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Lehigh shot 42 percent for the game (23-of-55) and 31 percent from three-point range (4-of-13). Loyola finished at 37 percent (22-of-59) and 53 percent from long range (9-of-17). The Greyhounds held a 37-36 advantage in rebounds.
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"I think our execution on offense has to be there," said Reed. "Our focus has to be there. We left points at the line, we left points in the paint, we left a lot of points that we could have converted upon. We need to do a better job in that particular area. I also think it continues to validate the things that we've been emphasizing with our team about a defensive presence. Our inability to influence the game at a very high level affected us and caused us to work from a deficit. Even rebounding in the second half, allowing 11 second-half offensive rebounds, gave them life for some of those possessions when we needed to really close it out to get the full shift of momentum going our way."
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Lehigh hits the road next Wednesday (Jan. 14) to face defending Patriot League Champion American at 7:30 p.m. in our nation's capital.
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Team Stats
LOYOLA
LEHIGH
FG%
.373
.418
3FG%
.529
.308
FT%
1.000
.556
RB
37
36
TO
14
12
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
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