Canisius comes back to top Mountain Hawks, 98-89

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Lehigh men's basketball team opened double-figure leads in the first and second halves, but couldn't hold on as Canisius stormed back to down the Mountain Hawks, 98-89 on Monday evening. The Mountain Hawks were led offensively by junior Austin Price's 20 points while senior Jesse Chuku was an all-around force, posting 19 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist.

"Tonight was really frustrating because offensively, we played well enough to win, but defensively, we didn't get key stops that we needed," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "When we did get a stop, they got an offensive rebound to extend the possession. Give Canisius credit. They just went on a tear and when they came out empty with their possessions, (Jamal) Reynolds was there for an extra rebound. They played well, it was hard to contain them going off the bounce and they made timely shots. Because of that, we walk away with a loss."

Chuku finished the game 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point range, to help propel Lehigh's long-distance attack that finished 13-of-27 as a team. Five Mountain Hawks tallied double-figure points for the first time since last Feb. 4. Junior Tim Kempton added 17 points and seven boards while sophomore Kahron Ross posted 14 points and seven assists. Freshman Kyle Leufroy also chipped in 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, in just his second-career game.

Price opened the scoring with a three-pointer just over one minute into the contest. Canisius answered with the next five points to take a 5-3 lead, but the Mountain Hawks went on a 9-0 run as a Kempton layup off a feed from Price gave Lehigh a 12-5 advantage with 15:05 left in the first half.

Lehigh eventually extended its run to 18-2, which featured Leufroy catching fire. The freshman hit a three-pointer and immediately followed with a steal and fastbreak layup to make it 21-7 with 10:53 on the clock.

Canisius responded with an 11-2 run, sparked by a Malcolm McMillan four-point play. With its lead down to 23-19, Lehigh opened a 28-21 advantage after a pair of Ross free throws, but the Golden Griffins came right back. As the first half progressed, they used their aggressive pressing defense to force Lehigh turnovers, eventually taking its first lead at 29-28 with 4:47 left in the first half.

The teams traded the lead over the ensuing minutes. Ross caught fire late in the half, scoring six straight Lehigh points to make it 38-34, and Chuku hit a trey with just seven seconds remaining. However, Canisius knocked down a pair of free throws with 0.1 seconds on the clock to pull within 41-39 at the half.

Canisius evened the score on its first second-half possession, but the Mountain Hawks responded with an 8-0 run. After a Price free throw, a Chuku three, Devon Carter layup and two Kempton free throws helped Lehigh open a 48-41 advantage with 16:08 on the second-half clock.

The Mountain Hawk offense continued its hot play over the ensuing minutes. Leading 49-43, a 7-0 surge which included a Kempton three-point play and Leufroy layup, gave Lehigh a 56-43 lead with 14:37 remaining.

A Price three-point play made it 62-48 with 13:07 on the clock, tied for the Mountain Hawks' largest lead of the game, but the Golden Griffins answered in a big way. They scored 22 of the next 25 points, using the three-point ball to their advantage. A Phil Valenti trey evened the score at 65, then less than 30 seconds later, Kassius Robertson knocked down a trey to give Canisius a 68-65 advantage before a Valenti basket made it 70-65.

Lehigh pulled within two following three-pointers from Chuku and Leufroy, but the Golden Griffins seemed to always have an answer. With Canisius leading 86-79 with 4:44 remaining, the Mountain Hawks scored seven straight points as two Kempton free throws, a Price three-pointer and Ross foul-line jumper evened the score at 86 with 2:16 on the clock.

However, after trading three-pointers, Canisius scored the game's final nine points over the final 1:11 to walk away with the 98-89 victory.

For the game, Lehigh shot 47 percent from the field (27-of-58) and 48 percent from three-point range (13-of-27). Canisius finished 42 percent (28-of-66) and 37 percent from long distance (11-of-30). The Golden Griffins won the battle of the boards, 40-35.

Lehigh now heads to the friendly confines of Stabler Arena on Thursday to host Yale in its home opener. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and tickets are available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.

"We're going to have to play very well against a tough opponent in Yale coming in," said Reed. "I hope we play with a great deal of energy, passion and determination. I hope the community will support us and help bring a sixth-man element to Stabler Arena, so we can hopefully walk away with a win against a very good team."

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Canisius comes back to top Mountain Hawks, 98-89

Next Event

Team Stats

Austin Price

Jesse Chuku

Tim Kempton

Kahron Ross

Players Mentioned

Devon Carter

Jesse Chuku

Tim Kempton

Kyle Leufroy

Austin Price

Kahron Ross

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Canisius comes back to top Mountain Hawks, 98-89

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Next Event

Team Stats

Game Leaders

Austin Price

Jesse Chuku

Tim Kempton

Kahron Ross

Players Mentioned

Devon Carter

Jesse Chuku

Tim Kempton

Kyle Leufroy

Austin Price

Kahron Ross

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