Saturday, January 17
Stabler Arena
2:00 pm
Lehigh University
69
vs
64
Holy Cross
Double-doubles from Kempton and Ross lead Lehigh past Holy Cross, 69-64
1/17/2015 5:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team held firm control from the beginning, opening a 20-point second-half lead on its way to a 69-64 win over Holy Cross on Saturday in Stabler Arena. Sophomore Tim Kempton scored a career-high 26 points and 13 rebounds for his second-straight double-double while freshman Kahron Ross tallied his second-career double-double with 13 points and ten assists. The Mountain Hawks improve to 2-4 in Patriot League play and 8-9 overall while Holy Cross falls to 6-10 and 1-5 in league play.
"Our players were really were feeding off of each other (in the first half)," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "I thought Tim established himself with an unbelievable presence, but he wasn't by himself. There were other guys making the right feeds, making the right plays and talking on defense. I was really pleased that we were able to establish ourselves early and ultimately, that comfortable lead carried through for the rest of the 40 minutes."
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Kempton scored 23 of his 26 points in the first half. He now has nine double-doubles this season and 15 in his career. He finished the day 9-for-11 from the field. Sophomore Austin Price added 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, shooting 5-of-11 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range. Kempton, Ross and Price combined for 52 of the team's 69 points.
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"It was beautiful to watch Kahron out there orchestrate our team," said Reed. "Not only was I pleased with his own individual performance, but I'm also starting to see a young man blossom, blossom as far as being a floor general and his communication with other people. I saw him today, when I hadn't always seen him at other times, get in front of somebody's face and make sure that he refocused and redirected his teammates. As he continues to gain experience, I hope his confidence continues in that role because he can be a lightning bug and a huge spark of energy for us."
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Mitchell Hahn led Holy Cross with 12 points while Malcolm Miller had 11 rebounds. A preseason All-Patriot League honoree, Miller was held to just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting.
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Lehigh started off hot, scoring 10 of the game's first 13 points to take a 10-3 lead with 17:28 on the clock. A Ross steal and layup began the game while he added a three-pointer. Three straight Kempton points capped off the 10-3 beginning.
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The Crusaders pulled within four on multiple occasions, but the Mountain Hawks used a 9-0 run to open a double-digit advantage for the first time as a Price fastbreak three-pointer, Kempton jumper and Price layup made it 24-11 with 12:07 left in the first half.
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Holy Cross answered with four straight points, but Lehigh scored nine of the next 11 as a Stefan Cvrkalj trey made it 33-17 Mountain Hawks with 8:27 on the first-half clock. Holy Cross pulled within 11 with 3:47 remaining, but Kempton scored Lehigh's last eight first-half points to help his squad to a 44-28 halftime advantage.
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Kempton's 23 first-half points came on 8-of-9 shooting and 7-of-10 from the free throw line. He added eight first-half rebounds as well. Lehigh shot 52 percent (16-of-31) and 40 percent from three-point range (4-of-10) while Holy Cross shot 31 percent (9-of-29) and 20 percent (3-of-15).
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The Mountain Hawks continued to roll into the second half. Holy Cross hit its first three second-half shots, but Lehigh still opened a 20-point lead following a Corey Schaefer trey, which made it 58-38 with 14:25 left.
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The teams combined for only three points over the next five minutes (a Holy Cross trey) before Lehigh ended its own 5:30 scoreless drought with a Price free throw. The Crusaders continued to chip away, pulling to single digits after a Mitchell Hahn three-pointer with 3:51 remaining. However, Kempton had an impressive sequence in which he dove to the sideline to save a loose ball from going out of bounds. He ended that possession with a layup then took a charge on defense, keeping the score at 64-54 with just under three minutes remaining.
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"It was a beautiful play, an absolute energy-changer and a game-changer to some degree," said Reed. "Plays like that make such a huge difference for a team and for a season. For Tim to be as selfless and as intent as he was to give up his body and try to save that basketball, it was unbelievable. We ended up taking some charges (today). Those are beautiful plays which as a coach, make you proud."
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Lehigh's offense struggled down the stretch, but the closest Holy Cross would pull is four with only one second remaining as the Mountain Hawks wrapped up their first Patriot League win at home this season.
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For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 49 percent from the field (23-of-47) and 33 percent from three-point range (6-of-18). The Crusaders shot 36 percent (22-of-61) and 26 percent (9-of-35), respectively. Lehigh held a 36-35 edge in rebounds.
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Lehigh will remain home to host Navy on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for the Mountain Hawks' Coaches vs. Cancer Game.
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