Lehigh faces another tough test at No. 15/16 Purdue Saturday night
11/27/2015 1:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Coming off a strong first half at No. 12 Virginia Wednesday, the Lehigh men's basketball team will face another nationally-ranked opponent on Saturday when the Mountain Hawks square off against the No. 15/16 Purdue Boilermakers. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN3/WatchESPN. Lehigh had many highlight moments against the Cavaliers Wednesday, leading on several instances over the first 20 minutes.
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The Mountain Hawks are still searching for their first win of the season, but there have been plenty of highlight moments. Lehigh has faced one of the toughest schedules in the country, which currently stands as the 18th toughest in the nation by Ken Pomeroy (as of Thursday). The Mountain Hawks have already faced No. 3 RPI Virginia, No. 36 Syracuse, No. 79 Yale, No. 101 Columbia and No. 157 Canisius while Saturday's opponent Purdue stands eighth in Ken Pomeroy's rankings (all numbers following games on Thursday, Nov. 26).Â
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Lehigh is looking to continue improving through its tough schedule and improvement was on display Wednesday evening at UVA. The Cavaliers staged an early 8-0 run to take a 16-10 lead, but not long after, the Mountain Hawks responded with an 8-0 run to open a two-point, 21-19 advantage following a three-pointer from freshman Kyle Leufroy. Lehigh led with less than five minutes remaining in the first half, but UVA closed the half on a 12-4 run to take a 35-28 halftime lead.
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Senior Jesse Chuku scored first in the second half, but five was close as the Mountain Hawks would come the rest of the way. On his birthday, Leufroy impressed for Lehigh, tying a team-high 14 points, which also stood as a career best. He knocked down four three-pointers for the game and added a career-high six boards, as Lehigh hung tough on the glass. Junior Tim Kempton added 14 points and five rebounds without a turnover, Chuku had five points and seven boards while sophomore Kahron Ross scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting to go with four assists.
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Saturday's game marks the fourth of five straight games on the road. It is also a homecoming for three Mountain Hawks who reign from Indiana: junior Austin Price (Indianapolis), sophomore Tyler Jenkins (Fishers) and freshman Matt Holba (Noblesville). Holba, who has not played this season due to injury, was a highly-regarded incomer, rated by ESPN as the No. 9 incomer from the state of Indiana and ranked 36th at small forward in the nation by ESPN. Price's uncle Jovon played basketball at Purdue and was a captain of the 1972-73 team.
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Ranked No. 15 in the Coaches Poll and 16th in the AP Top 25, Purdue has been stellar to start the 2015-16 season. The Boilermakers have scored at least 81 points in four of their five wins, and in the other, Purdue still beat Old Dominion by 22, 61-39. Five Boilermakers are averaging double-figure points, led by 7-foot-2 center Isaac Haas and his 13.2 points per game. He is followed by Rapheal Davis (11.6 scoring average), A.J. Hammons (11.0), Vince Edwards (10.8) and Caleb Swanigan (10.2). Just a freshman, Swanigan leads Purdue in rebounding at 8.6 per contest while two others average more than six boards. Purdue is dominant on the boards as a team, holding a 45.4 to 31.4 edge on average.
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Saturday marks the first-ever meeting between Lehigh and Purdue.
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The Mountain Hawks will return to Pennsylvania for a Wednesday road game at Saint Francis (Pa.). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Lehigh will return home next Saturday to host Rochester College at 2 p.m.
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Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Coming off a strong first half at No. 12 Virginia Wednesday, the Lehigh men's basketball team will face another nationally-ranked opponent on Saturday when the Mountain Hawks square off against the No. 15/16 Purdue Boilermakers. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN3/WatchESPN. Lehigh had many highlight moments against the Cavaliers Wednesday, leading on several instances over the first 20 minutes.
Â
The Mountain Hawks are still searching for their first win of the season, but there have been plenty of highlight moments. Lehigh has faced one of the toughest schedules in the country, which currently stands as the 18th toughest in the nation by Ken Pomeroy (as of Thursday). The Mountain Hawks have already faced No. 3 RPI Virginia, No. 36 Syracuse, No. 79 Yale, No. 101 Columbia and No. 157 Canisius while Saturday's opponent Purdue stands eighth in Ken Pomeroy's rankings (all numbers following games on Thursday, Nov. 26).Â
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Lehigh is looking to continue improving through its tough schedule and improvement was on display Wednesday evening at UVA. The Cavaliers staged an early 8-0 run to take a 16-10 lead, but not long after, the Mountain Hawks responded with an 8-0 run to open a two-point, 21-19 advantage following a three-pointer from freshman Kyle Leufroy. Lehigh led with less than five minutes remaining in the first half, but UVA closed the half on a 12-4 run to take a 35-28 halftime lead.
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Senior Jesse Chuku scored first in the second half, but five was close as the Mountain Hawks would come the rest of the way. On his birthday, Leufroy impressed for Lehigh, tying a team-high 14 points, which also stood as a career best. He knocked down four three-pointers for the game and added a career-high six boards, as Lehigh hung tough on the glass. Junior Tim Kempton added 14 points and five rebounds without a turnover, Chuku had five points and seven boards while sophomore Kahron Ross scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting to go with four assists.
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Saturday's game marks the fourth of five straight games on the road. It is also a homecoming for three Mountain Hawks who reign from Indiana: junior Austin Price (Indianapolis), sophomore Tyler Jenkins (Fishers) and freshman Matt Holba (Noblesville). Holba, who has not played this season due to injury, was a highly-regarded incomer, rated by ESPN as the No. 9 incomer from the state of Indiana and ranked 36th at small forward in the nation by ESPN. Price's uncle Jovon played basketball at Purdue and was a captain of the 1972-73 team.
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Ranked No. 15 in the Coaches Poll and 16th in the AP Top 25, Purdue has been stellar to start the 2015-16 season. The Boilermakers have scored at least 81 points in four of their five wins, and in the other, Purdue still beat Old Dominion by 22, 61-39. Five Boilermakers are averaging double-figure points, led by 7-foot-2 center Isaac Haas and his 13.2 points per game. He is followed by Rapheal Davis (11.6 scoring average), A.J. Hammons (11.0), Vince Edwards (10.8) and Caleb Swanigan (10.2). Just a freshman, Swanigan leads Purdue in rebounding at 8.6 per contest while two others average more than six boards. Purdue is dominant on the boards as a team, holding a 45.4 to 31.4 edge on average.
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Saturday marks the first-ever meeting between Lehigh and Purdue.
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The Mountain Hawks will return to Pennsylvania for a Wednesday road game at Saint Francis (Pa.). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Lehigh will return home next Saturday to host Rochester College at 2 p.m.
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Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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| Date: | November 28, 2015 |
| Opponent: | Purdue Boilermakers |
| Tip-off: | 7:00 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Mackey Arena/14,240 |
| Location: | West Lafayette, Ind. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 0-5, 0-0 Patriot League  |
| Purdue's Record: | 5-0, 0-0 Big Ten |
| Series: | First Meeting |
| Radio: | Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30 PM |
| Television: | ESPN3 |
| Internet Video: | ESPN3/WatchESPN |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | Purdue Official Website |
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