Wednesday, February 18
Annapolis, Md.
7:00 pm
Lehigh University
15-11 (9-6)
59
at
53
Navy
10-17 (6-9)
1
2
F
Lehigh
20
39
59
Navy
26
27
53
Second-half runs lead Lehigh past Navy, 59-53
2/18/2015 10:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Lehigh offense struggled offensively over the first 20 minutes, but the Mountain Hawks used big runs at the beginning and end of the second half to beat Navy, 59-53 on Wednesday evening in Alumni Hall. The win marks Lehigh's eighth in the last 10 games and 11th straight over the Midshipmen spanning the last five seasons. Junior Jesse Chuku finished with 12 points, 10 coming in the first half, while freshman Kahron Ross scored all of his team-high 14 points in the second half to lead the comeback attempt. The Mountain Hawks improve to 15-11 overall and 9-6 in Patriot League play as they remain one game ahead of fourth place entering this weekend's games. Navy falls to 10-17 and 6-9 in the league.
"It was important that we didn't fall too far behind (in the first half)," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We were not clicking on offense. We turned the basketball over which led to a lot of fast break opportunities. We didn't convert and we didn't knock down our shots. We were just a step slow. In that second half, the ball was moving around and we shared the ball at a high level. Guys were playing aggressively and confidently, versus the first half when it seemed like we were on our heels."
Ross only shot 4-of-13 from the field, but was 2-of-5 from three-point range and hit some big second-half shots. Sophomore Tim Kempton added 12 points, including 10 in the second half while classmate Austin Price finished with 11, nine in the second half.
"I'm glad our guys responded," said Reed. "As we progressed later in the second half, I thought our defense stepped up with things like deflections and steals which led to some run-out opportunities."
Worth Smith led Navy with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting while Tilman Dunbar added 13 points and six assists.
A Justin Goldsborough offensive rebound and layup opened the scoring, but Navy answered with the next 10 points as the Mountain Hawks hit just one of their first 11 field goal attempts.
A Chuku offensive rebound and putback ended nearly a seven-minute scoreless drought, pulling the Mountain Hawks within 10-4 with 12:16 on the first-half clock.
Trailing 12-5, Chuku ended a long possession with a three-pointer as the shot clock was expiring to pull his squad within 12-8 with 7:52 remaining in the half.
Another Chuku basket, a layup with 3:51 on the clock, pulled Lehigh within 17-13, but a few minutes later, the Midshipmen scored six straight points behind consecutive three-pointers, to give them a 25-15 advantage. The Mountain Hawks answered with five of the next six points as a Chuku trey as the first-half expired gave Lehigh a 26-20 lead after 20 minutes of play.
"Jesse was very important for us," said Reed. "Kahron was in a little bit of foul trouble; other guys weren't stepping up in that first half and Jesse gave us a shot in the arm. His shot at the end of the half gave us a little bit of a push, got us a little bit closer. It made our run at the beginning of the second half a little bit better. Jesse made some huge plays for us, made some huge shots and rebounded the basketball to give us extra possessions."
Chuku's 10 first-half points came on 4-of-5 shooting and 2-of-2 from three-point range. He also grabbed a game-high five first-half rebounds. Smith led Navy with 12 points. Lehigh shot just 26 percent in the first half (6-of-23) while Navy shot 33 percent (9-of-27).
Lehigh came out of the locker room on fire, scoring nine of the first 11 points to extend its run to 12-2 dating back to the end of the first half. Kempton began the half with a three-point play while treys from Ross and Price gave the Mountain Hawks their first lead since 2-0, making it 29-28 with 17:58 on the clock.
Leading 40-35, Navy staged a 9-2 run as a Shawn Anderson basket gave the Midshipmen a 44-42 lead with 8:12 left in the second half. Navy held onto its lead over the ensuing minutes, but with 6:48 remaining, Price converted a layup to spark a 10-0 run. The run included four points from Kempton to make it 50-46 with 3:44 on the clock. Ross rounded out the run with a pair of free throws to make it 52-46 with under a minute remaining.
Navy hit a pair of free throws with 30 seconds remaining to snap a 7:02 scoreless drought and pull the Midshipmen within six, 54-48. Lehigh went on to hit five free throws down the stretch for the 59-53 final.
For the game, Lehigh shot 34 percent (17-of-50) and 33 percent from three-point range (5-of-15). Navy finished at 35 percent (19-of-54) and 40 percent from long distance (6-of-15). The Mids held a 41-38 edge in rebounds.
Lehigh now returns home for its final two home games of the regular season. The Mountain Hawks begin on Sunday by hosting archrival Lafayette at 12 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. It will also be Senior Day as Corey Schaefer, Stefan Cvrkalj, Conroy Baltimore and Khalid McCaskill will be recognized prior to opening tipoff. Tickets are just $10 for the general public, $10 for Lehigh faculty/staff and $5 for Lehigh students. With a high walk-up expected on Sunday, fans are encouraged to purchase in advance. Click here to purchase tickets online.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
NAVY
FG%
.340
.352
3FG%
.333
.400
FT%
.800
.600
RB
38
41
TO
13
15
STL
9
6
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
F
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G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballC/F
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
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