Thursday, February 12
Stabler Arena
7:00 pm
Lehigh University
14-10, 8-5PL
65
vs
58
American
13-12, 6-7PL
1
2
F
American
19
39
58
Lehigh
33
32
65
Mountain Hawks knock off defending league champion American, 65-58
2/12/2015 10:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team ended the first half on a 25-3 run then held off a late American University charge as the Mountain Hawks won for the seventh time in their last eight games, beating the defending Patriot League Champions 65-58 on Wednesday evening in Stabler Arena. Sophomore Tim Kempton scored a game-high 20 points while classmate Austin Price added 15 points, a career-high tying six rebounds and three assists.
The win marks Lehigh's fifth straight home victory as the Mountain Hawks have opened a double-digit lead in each of those contests. After Thursday's game, Lehigh stands in third place with its 8-5 Patriot League record, two games ahead of four teams who are tied for fourth. The Mountain Hawks are 14-10 overall.
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"I thought our energy level was tremendously higher," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed about the end-of-first-half run. "You've got to give American credit. They stepped up and made the plays, but they were very comfortable plays for them. Unfortunately, we allowed them to get off to a quick start. With the insertion of some guys off our bench, they brought immediate energy. I thought Miles (Simelton's) defensive presence was a little bit higher. We made more of a commitment to guard the ball more closely."
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Freshman Kahron Ross added 10 points and five assists, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final minute. John Schoof led the Eagles with 21 points while Kevin Panzer had 11 and Pee Wee Gardner tallied 10.
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"American's center pulled so far out on the floor, there were a lot of opportunities for our guards to go in and crash and get those rebounds," said Reed. "If you think about their offense, most of the time, there are five guys standing around the three-point line. A lot of times, our post players have the advantage when they're in close; they're able to use their size and mass. But they use a little bit of their advantage when they're standing at 19 feet trying to rebound the basketball. Credit Jesse (Chuku), going and pursuing the basketball, Miles and Austin going to get the ball. We commented about that in the team room afterwards saying that those are big plays, those are really important plays for us. Those guys stepped up to close out some possessions."
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American took early control as a Panzer three-pointer gave the Eagles a 13-9 lead with 15:57 on the first-half clock. A Gardner trey gave the Eagles a 16-8 advantage, but that's when the Mountain Hawks took cover. Lehigh ended the half on a 23-3 run. After a Jesse Reed free throw made it 17-10, sophomores Miles Simelton and Price knocked down consecutive three-pointers to quickly pull the Mountain Hawks within one.
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Junior Jesse Chuku, junior Justin Goldsborough and Kempton followed with layups then Kempton hit two free throws to extend the run to 14-0 run. A Panzer dunk ended a 5:23 scoreless drought for American, but the Eagles wouldn't score for the final 7:36 of the half.
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Lehigh ended the half by scoring nine straight points as Simelton knocked down another three and Kempton converted a layup to make it 33-19 after 20 minutes of play.
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Kempton led the Mountain Hawks with 10 first-half points while Simelton had six points and Price posted five. Both Simelton and Price had four rebounds to lead the way. Lehigh shot 50 percent in the first half (12-of-24) including 38 percent from long range (3-of-8) while American shot 28 percent (7-of-25) and 40 percent from three (4-of-10).
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Price began the second half with a three-pointer, but American scored seven of the next nine points to pull within 38-26 with 17:29 on the clock. The Mountain Hawks maintained their double-digit lead over the ensuing minutes as a Kempton layup gave Lehigh a 45-29 advantage with 14:29 left in the second half.
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The Eagles again answered with four in a row, but the Mountain Hawks regained a 15-point, 50-45 lead following a Kempton basket with 8:54 on the clock.
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Leading 54-41 with just over five minutes remaining, American wouldn't go away. The Eagles pulled as close as six on multiple occasions down the stretch, but couldn't get any closer due in large part to Lehigh's free throw shooting. The Mountain Hawks hit 10-of-10 over the final minute, six from Ross and four from Price, to wrap up the 65-58 victory.
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For the game, Lehigh shot 46 percent (20-of-44) and 36 percent from three-point range (5-of-14). American finished at 39 percent (20-of-51) and 40 percent from long distance (8-of-20). The Mountain Hawks won the battle of the boards, 29-26.
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The Mountain Hawks hit the road for two straight as they travel to Holy Cross on Saturday and Navy next Wednesday (Feb. 18).
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Team Stats
AMERICAN
LEHIGH
FG%
.392
.455
3FG%
.400
.357
FT%
.769
.870
RB
26
29
TO
13
13
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
15
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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