Sunday, November 22
New York, N.Y.
4:00 pm

Lehigh University

at

Columbia

Men's Basketball Team

Lehigh heads to Columbia for Sunday matinee

11/21/2015 5:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team will vie for its first win of the season on Sunday when the Mountain Hawks travel to Columbia to face another challenging opponent. Opening tipoff is set for 4 p.m. Lehigh has been in each of its first three games down the stretch, but hasn't been able to get over the hump. Most recently, the Mountain Hawks pulled within three with less than four minutes remaining vs. Yale Monday, but couldn't complete the comeback.
 
Sunday's game can be viewed live online through the Ivy League Network (subscription required). A school one-day pass is available for $9.95. Just click here to purchase.
 
Yale took an early lead, but Lehigh responded, eventually taking its first lead at 20-18 with 6:53 left in the first half. An Austin Price trey gave the Mountain Hawks a 25-22 advantage, but the Bulldogs scored the next 11 points, taking a 36-28 lead into halftime. Yale extended its lead to double figures on multiple occasions in the second half, but Lehigh continued to come back. A Kahron Ross layup pulled the Mountain Hawks within 66-63, but that's as close as they would get.
 
Price led the way offensively with his second straight 20+ point effort, scoring 23 on 8-of-16 shooting while also adding three assists and three steals. Eighteen of Price's points came in the second half. The point total was just one shy of tying his career high. Junior Tim Kempton added 16 points and six boards while Ross tallied 10 points, six assists and three steals. Senior Devon Carter tied a career-high seven points, including Lehigh's first five points of the evening.
 
The Mountain Hawks struggled on the boards (48-26), but only turned the ball over nine times while forcing 16 Yale turnovers. Lehigh tallied nine steals, led by three each from Price and Ross.
 
Monday's loss snapped a five-game winning streak against Yale with Lehigh's previous loss coming on Dec. 4, 1996. The Bulldogs were the preseason No. 1 team in the Ivy League while Sunday's opponent, Columbia, was selected at No. 2. The Lions enter Sunday's game with a 1-2 record after an overtime loss at Northwestern Friday evening. The Mountain Hawks' challenging November schedule continues next week with games at Virginia and Purdue on Nov. 25 and 28, currently ranked No. 6 and 21 in the AP Top 25.
 
Despite the tough start to the season, Lehigh stands as the third-ranked Patriot League team in the Ken Pomeroy rankings, at No. 160 in the nation with the 75th-ranked strength of schedule, by far the highest in the league.
 
Lehigh is vying for its first win over Columbia since Jan. 2, 2009. The Mountain Hawks' last win at Columbia was Jan. 2, 2006.
 
A veteran team, Columbia enters Sunday 1-2, only falling to power conference opponents Kansas State and Northwestern. Last time out, the Lions held a double-figure edge in the first half and led into the second, but the Wildcats came back to win 83-80 in overtime. Four different Columbia players are averaging double-figure points as the Lions are averaging 86.0 points through three games. Grant Mullins leads the way with 14.7 points per contest, Alex Rosenberg has averaged 14.3, Luke Pestrasek 13.3 and Maodo Lo 11.3.
 
Columbia topped Lehigh last season, 54-44 to extend its all-time lead to 22-12. The Lions also won the previous meeting on Dec. 3, 2009, but the Mountain Hawks had won five of the previous seven, including four straight from 2002 to 2006. Ironically, Lehigh and Columbia played on January 2 for four straight seasons (2006 through 2009). Columbia won the first-ever meeting between the two sides, 65-51 during the 1962-63 season.
 
After Sunday's game, the Mountain Hawks will remain on the road for games against a pair of Top 25 foes: at No. 6 Virginia on Wednesday and No. 21 Purdue next Saturday. Both games can be seen live on ESPN3/WatchESPN.
 
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