Saturday, December 19
Stabler Arena
7:00 pm
Lehigh University
2-8
76
vs
73
Mount St. Mary's
3-8
1
2
F
Mount St. Mary's
37
36
73
Lehigh
43
33
76
Mountain Hawks earn gritty 76-73 win over Mount St. Mary’s
12/19/2015 10:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - In a game full of runs, the Lehigh men's basketball team used an all-around team effort to down Mount St. Mary's on Saturday evening in Stabler Arena, 76-73. The Mountain Hawks took a 13-point first-half lead before the Mountaineers stormed back. Lehigh always had an answer, however, and pulled out a big victory over the preseason NEC favorites in a game that went down to the wire. Junior Austin Price led Lehigh with 19 points while senior John Ross Glover had a monster game, scoring all of his Lehigh career-high 11 points in the second half.
"That was a hard-fought victory on our guys' part," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Mount St. Mary's did not give an inch. It was hard to inbound the ball, it was hard to advance the ball, it was hard to make an entry pass and we had to fight for rebounds. Fortunately, we had a lot of key players really fulfill great roles for us. John Glover played terrifically, Tyler Jenkins brought energy and execution, and played unselfishly. He passed up a shot to get Austin Price a wide open three, passed up a shot to get a layup for Jesse Chuku and played a role that's really important. Then you have someone like Devon Carter who showed a terrific maturity and attitude. He doesn't start tonight, but when he comes in, he knocks down open threes and gives us a huge boost. We showed great heart and energy tonight."
Glover finished the game with 11 points and eight rebounds, both career highs in a Lehigh uniform. He shot 4-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Price finished 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-5 from long distance. Sophomore Kahron Ross just missed a double-double, tallying 12 points, nine assists, three rebounds and a steal. His two biggest points came in the final minute when he knocked down a pair from the free throw line.
All nine Mountain Hawks who played scored at least four points as senior Devon Carter tallied a career-high nine points while classmate Justin Goldsborough also had nine. Goldsborough did not miss a shot all evening, converting 3-of-3 field goals and 3-of-3 free throws.
The Mountain Hawks got off to a fast start, beginning the game on a 7-0 run, which included points from three different Lehigh players. After Mount St. Mary's scored with 17:52 on the clock, Carter knocked down a three-pointer to make it 10-2 with 16:55 left in the first half.
Leading 15-10, Lehigh used an 8-0 run to open its largest lead of the first half as consecutive threes from Carter and Price made it 23-10 with 11:39 on the first-half clock.
The lead remained in double figures over the ensuing minutes until the Mountaineers used a late first-half run to get right back in the game. A Ross free throw gave the Mountain Hawks a 33-22 advantage, but Mount St. Mary's responded with 15 of the next 19 points, ending with eight straight points as a BK Ashe jumper evened the score at 37 with 1:54 left in the first.
Lehigh responded with the final six first-half points, four scored by Price including a tough shot as the first half came to close, making it 43-37 after 20 minutes of play.
Mount St. Mary's began the second half with a 9-0 run as an Ashe layup gave the Mountaineers a 46-43 advantage with 16:55 left in the second half.
As they had all night, the Mountain Hawks responded, this time with a three-pointer from sophomore Tyler Jenkins which evened the score at 46.
The teams went back-and-forth over the ensuing minutes before the Mountain Hawks used a 9-2 run, capped off by a Glover three-pointer and Goldsborough layup, to give Lehigh a 61-54 lead with 11:25 remaining in the first half.
The game of runs continued as Mount St. Mary's immediately went on a 10-0 run to take a 64-61 lead with 9:00 on the clock.
Freshman Kyle Leufroy ended a nearly four-minute scoreless drought with a jumper, then Glover knocked down a three-pointer to give Lehigh the lead again, 66-64 with 5:50 on the clock.
It looked like the Mountaineers would begin pulling away when they broke a 68-68 tie with five straight points, but another Glover three, his third of the half, pulled Lehigh within 73-71 with 2:38 remaining. The Mountain Hawks went ahead for good when Price knocked down a trey with 47 seconds on the clock which gave Lehigh a 74-73 advantage.
"We called timeout and could have flowed and played into it, but I thought MSM did a nice job in their half-court defense and tried to neutralize some of our pick and roll game," said Reed. "Fortunately, Austin waited for the screen, he got good separation off the first screen and I thought John Ross made very good contact and Justin cleaned him up. The delivery was on time and on target and we got nothing but net from the top of the key."
Mount St. Mary's missed a pair of free throws and Glover came up with the huge board, leading into two Ross free throws and a three-point advantage. The Mountaineers had one last second three-pointer, but it fell well short.
Lehigh shot 51 percent from the field (26-of-51) and 53 percent from long distance (10-of-19) while Mount St. Mary's finished 54 percent (28-of-52) and 37 percent from three-point range (10-of-27). The Mountain Hawks held a 28-23 edge in rebounding.
The Mountain Hawks remain home on Tuesday to host preseason America East favorite Stony Brook at 7 p.m. Tuesday marks the final nonleague contest before the Patriot League opener on Dec. 30 at home against Army West Point.
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Team Stats
MOUNT
LEHIGH
FG%
.538
.510
3FG%
.370
.526
FT%
.583
.875
RB
23
28
TO
13
16
STL
9
6
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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