Saturday, January 24
Easton, Pa.
2:00 pm
Lehigh University
10-9; 4-4
75
at
71
Lafayette
11-8; 3-5
1
2
F
Lehigh
35
40
75
Lafayette
30
41
71
All-around effort leads Lehigh to big 75-71 win at Lafayette
1/24/2015 5:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EASTON, Pa. - Five Mountain Hawks reached double-figure points as the Lehigh men's basketball team won its third straight game on Saturday afternoon, topping archrival Lafayette, 75-71. Sophomore Austin Price led the way with 16 points, 14 coming in the second half. Classmate Tim Kempton tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds for his tenth double-double this season and 16th of his career. Included was a big three-pointer late in the second half to give Lehigh a five-point advantage, coming on Kempton's first three-point attempt of his career.
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"I thought we had great contributions from a number of different players, even in spot minutes," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Devon Carter's diving save of the basketball in the first half embodied what we're trying to do. For him to be able to go out there and insert himself in a very positive way the way he did, it really helped set the tone. Tim Kempton taking a charge in the first half and diving multiple times down in front of Lafayette's bench are the cultural, energy types of plays that we want to consistently see and I thought we had that. Great unity, great togetherness and great energy."
Price had a monster second half, scoring 14 points over the final 20 minutes on 4-of-4 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Junior Justin Goldsborough also scored 12 points and added six rebounds while freshmen Brandon Alston and Kahron Ross chipped in with ten points apiece. The Mountain Hawks' defense also impressed, containing the Patriot League's top-scoring offense. Lafayette didn't score more than five straight points all afternoon. Joey Ptasinski, who entered the game knocking down more than 50 percent from three-point range, was 0-for-5 from long distance as senior Corey Schaefer never allowed him to become comfortable.
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Dan Trist, Nick Lindner and Seth Hinrichs each scored 17 or more points for the Leopards, but the rest of the team provided just 15 points of offense.
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"It's not easy to defend against Lafayette," said Reed. "We just tried to keep them from being in a rhythm and did the best job that we could to make sure we consistently had a presence on the basketball. At times, it worked against us because we were in foul difficulty, but ultimately, if we didn't have that presence and energy on the floor, I believe that Lafayette would have been a lot more comfortable with some of their looks and it could have potentially produced some different results."
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Lafayette hit a three-pointer on the game's first possession, but the Mountain Hawks scored on their first two possessions, a Kempton jumper and three Ross free throws, to even the score at five. A Schaefer three-pointer gave Lehigh its first lead (10-7) with 16:23 on the first-half clock.
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The teams went back-and-forth over the ensuing minutes. The Mountain Hawks took a three-point advantage after a Jesse Chuku jumper which made it 14-11, but Lehigh's offense struggled over the ensuing minutes and the Leopards scored the next five points to retake a lead.
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Trailing 22-21, the Mountain Hawks scored 11 of the next 15 points, beginning with a Goldsborough offensive rebound and layup, and ending with a Kempton jumper to make it 32-26 with 4:04 left in the first half.
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A Bryce Scott three-pointer pulled Lafayette within 32-30 with 1:12 remaining, but sophomore Miles Simelton knocked down a corner three to make it 35-30 Mountain Hawks at the half.
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Goldsborough led the way with eight first-half points and four rebounds while Kempton had six points and seven boards. The Mountain Hawks shot 47 percent from the field compared to Lafayette's 39 percent while Lehigh held a dominant 21-12 edge on the glass, including a 6-2 edge in offensive rebounds.
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Both offenses were clicking early in the second half as a Hinrichs three-pointer quickly pulled the Leopards within 37-35. Leading 43-41, the Mountain Hawks went on an 8-0 run which began with consecutive threes from Alston and Ross and ended with a Kempton layup to make it 51-41 with 15:21 on the clock.
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Lafayette answered with the next five points, but the Mountain Hawks always seemed to have an answer. Two Trist free throws pulled the Leopards within two at 57-55 with 8:29 remaining, but Lehigh wouldn't allow Lafayette to pull any closer as the margin remained between two and six over the remaining minutes.
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It appeared like the Leopards were gaining momentum, but Kempton hit his big three-pointer with 3:55 on the clock to give Lehigh a 71-66 advantage. Neither team scored over the next 2:38 before Lafayette again pulled within two. However, Ross and Price were 2-for-2 from the free throw line over the final 26 seconds, both converting pressure-filled one-and-ones, as Lehigh maintained its two-possession edge and the 75-71 victory.
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Lehigh shot 52 percent for the game (26-of-50) and 57 percent from three-point range (8-of-14). The eight three-pointers were made by eight different players, including four who converted their only three-point attempt of the game. Lafayette finished at 41 percent (22-of-54) and 32 percent from long distance (6-of-19). Lehigh was a perfect 15-of-15 from the free throw line while Lafayette was 21-of-23. The Mountain Hawks won the battle of the boards, 33-25 to help snap a three-game losing streak at Lafayette.
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"The images and the visions that I have from today are guys making winning types of plays, having offensive balance, sharing the basketball and having enough focus to be able to finish at the line, on a night when Lafayette was red-hot from the free throw line as well," said Reed.
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Lehigh will look to continue its momentum at Bucknell on Wednesday as the Mountain Hawks face the first-place Bison at 8 p.m. The game will be televised live by the American Sports Network.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
LAFAYETT
FG%
.520
.407
3FG%
.571
.316
FT%
1.000
.913
RB
33
25
TO
14
7
STL
2
5
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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