Thursday, February 12
Stabler Arena
7:00 pm
Lehigh University
vs
American
Lehigh welcomes American on Thursday for nationally-televised showdown
2/11/2015 9:53:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | Listen Live | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets | Video of Thursday's Halftime Act
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The red-hot Lehigh men's basketball team will eye its fourth straight win and seventh win in the last eight games when the Mountain Hawks host American on Thursday evening. Opening tipoff in Stabler Arena is set for 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network. Lehigh dropped a last-second heartbreaker earlier this season at American, but the Mountain Hawks have responded with six wins in their last seven games. Lehigh has won four straight home games, including a convincing 103-74 victory over Army last Wednesday.
The first 200 students to Thursday's game receive an NCAA March Madness Drawstring Bag (click here to view a picture of the bag). Very special halftime entertainment is on tap as the Bucks County Bungee Jumpers Jump Rope Team will perform. Click here for video of the group performing at halftime of a recent Rutgers game. The Goodman Bus Service leaves at 6:15 and 6:45 p.m. from the Dialogue Center on Taylor Street (between Taylor Gym and Grace Hall).
In the last meeting with American, Eagles' point guard Pee Wee Gardner hit a game-winning three-pointer with less than one second remaining, just seconds after Lehigh sophomore Tim Kempton evened the score. Since that game, the Mountain Hawks have won six-of-seven, beginning with a 69-64 win over Holy Cross at home. Lehigh's only loss was a heartbreaker at Bucknell when the Bison came back from a 16-point second-half deficit.
Last time out, the Mountain Hawks earned a hard-fought 69-63 road win at Loyola. Lehigh led for the majority of the game, but the Greyhounds wouldn't go away. In the final minute, the Greyhounds had what looked to be a wide-open layup that would have pulled them within two, but junior Justin Goldsborough came out of nowhere for his third block of the game. Freshman Kahron Ross grabbed the rebound and the Mountain Hawks wrapped up their third straight victory. Kempton led the team with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with eight rebounds. Goldsborough had 13 points and eight boards while junior Jesse Chuku scored 11 points (all in the first half) on 4-of-5 shooting and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Ross added ten points and five assists as he earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors for the second straight week and fifth time this season. Kempton also earned honorable mention laurels.
Sophomore Miles Simelton enjoyed his second straight impressive game, scoring seven points on 3-of-5 shooting. Included was a stretch of five straight points at a key point of the second half. Loyola took a 2-0 lead just 23 seconds into the game, but that proved to be its largest lead as the Mountain Hawks avenged a January loss to the Greyhounds.
Lehigh enters the midweek games in third place in the Patriot League standings. American is one game back. Thursday's contest could go a long way towards home court advantage in the league quarterfinals. The Mountain Hawks are also just one game behind first place Bucknell and Colgate with six regular season games remaining. The Eagles are the defending Patriot League champions, but had a tough three-game losing streak at the end of January, falling to Boston University, Army and Navy. American has won two of its last three, beating Holy Cross and Loyola before falling at Colgate on Saturday.
The Eagles are enjoying an up-and-down season as they attempt to defend their Patriot League Championship. American finished 7-5 in nonleague play and is currently 6-6 in the league. After a 4-2 start in Patriot League play, American has lost four of its last six, including a 59-43 defeat at Colgate last time out. Jesse Reed leads the team in scoring and rebounding with his averages of 14.1 and 5.2, respectively. John Schoof and Gardner also average double-figure points, coming in at 10.6 and 10.2, respectively. Gardner also owns a team-leading 86 assists. American is a defensive-minded team; the Eagles are last in the league in scoring offense (55.6), but are first in scoring defense (56.2). American also struggled on the glass, getting outrebounded by five on average.
American has won three straight against Lehigh to take a 25-18 lead in the all-time series. This came after the Mountain Hawks had won three in a row and four-of-five. The two sides have played multiple times in the Patriot League Tournament, combining for five of the last seven Patriot League Championships. Along the way, Lehigh and American have played multiple times in the league tournament. The Mountain Hawks earned a semifinal victory over American in the 2012 semifinals while beating the Eagles in the 2004 championship game.
The Mountain Hawks hit the road for two straight as they travel to Holy Cross on Saturday and Navy next Wednesday (Feb. 18).
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The red-hot Lehigh men's basketball team will eye its fourth straight win and seventh win in the last eight games when the Mountain Hawks host American on Thursday evening. Opening tipoff in Stabler Arena is set for 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network. Lehigh dropped a last-second heartbreaker earlier this season at American, but the Mountain Hawks have responded with six wins in their last seven games. Lehigh has won four straight home games, including a convincing 103-74 victory over Army last Wednesday.
The first 200 students to Thursday's game receive an NCAA March Madness Drawstring Bag (click here to view a picture of the bag). Very special halftime entertainment is on tap as the Bucks County Bungee Jumpers Jump Rope Team will perform. Click here for video of the group performing at halftime of a recent Rutgers game. The Goodman Bus Service leaves at 6:15 and 6:45 p.m. from the Dialogue Center on Taylor Street (between Taylor Gym and Grace Hall).
In the last meeting with American, Eagles' point guard Pee Wee Gardner hit a game-winning three-pointer with less than one second remaining, just seconds after Lehigh sophomore Tim Kempton evened the score. Since that game, the Mountain Hawks have won six-of-seven, beginning with a 69-64 win over Holy Cross at home. Lehigh's only loss was a heartbreaker at Bucknell when the Bison came back from a 16-point second-half deficit.
Last time out, the Mountain Hawks earned a hard-fought 69-63 road win at Loyola. Lehigh led for the majority of the game, but the Greyhounds wouldn't go away. In the final minute, the Greyhounds had what looked to be a wide-open layup that would have pulled them within two, but junior Justin Goldsborough came out of nowhere for his third block of the game. Freshman Kahron Ross grabbed the rebound and the Mountain Hawks wrapped up their third straight victory. Kempton led the team with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with eight rebounds. Goldsborough had 13 points and eight boards while junior Jesse Chuku scored 11 points (all in the first half) on 4-of-5 shooting and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Ross added ten points and five assists as he earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors for the second straight week and fifth time this season. Kempton also earned honorable mention laurels.
Sophomore Miles Simelton enjoyed his second straight impressive game, scoring seven points on 3-of-5 shooting. Included was a stretch of five straight points at a key point of the second half. Loyola took a 2-0 lead just 23 seconds into the game, but that proved to be its largest lead as the Mountain Hawks avenged a January loss to the Greyhounds.
Lehigh enters the midweek games in third place in the Patriot League standings. American is one game back. Thursday's contest could go a long way towards home court advantage in the league quarterfinals. The Mountain Hawks are also just one game behind first place Bucknell and Colgate with six regular season games remaining. The Eagles are the defending Patriot League champions, but had a tough three-game losing streak at the end of January, falling to Boston University, Army and Navy. American has won two of its last three, beating Holy Cross and Loyola before falling at Colgate on Saturday.
The Eagles are enjoying an up-and-down season as they attempt to defend their Patriot League Championship. American finished 7-5 in nonleague play and is currently 6-6 in the league. After a 4-2 start in Patriot League play, American has lost four of its last six, including a 59-43 defeat at Colgate last time out. Jesse Reed leads the team in scoring and rebounding with his averages of 14.1 and 5.2, respectively. John Schoof and Gardner also average double-figure points, coming in at 10.6 and 10.2, respectively. Gardner also owns a team-leading 86 assists. American is a defensive-minded team; the Eagles are last in the league in scoring offense (55.6), but are first in scoring defense (56.2). American also struggled on the glass, getting outrebounded by five on average.
American has won three straight against Lehigh to take a 25-18 lead in the all-time series. This came after the Mountain Hawks had won three in a row and four-of-five. The two sides have played multiple times in the Patriot League Tournament, combining for five of the last seven Patriot League Championships. Along the way, Lehigh and American have played multiple times in the league tournament. The Mountain Hawks earned a semifinal victory over American in the 2012 semifinals while beating the Eagles in the 2004 championship game.
The Mountain Hawks hit the road for two straight as they travel to Holy Cross on Saturday and Navy next Wednesday (Feb. 18).
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
| Date: | February 12, 2015 |
| Opponent: | American Eagles |
| Tip-off: | 7:00 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Stabler Arena/5,600 |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 13-10, 7-5 Patriot League |
| American's Record: | 13-11, 6-6 Patriot League |
| Series: | American leads, 25-18 |
| Radio: | Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon and Greg Falkenbach '72. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30 PM |
| Television: | CBS Sports Network |
| Internet Video: | None |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | American Official Website |
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