Saturday, February 28
Hamilton, N.Y.
12:00 pm
Lehigh University
16-13 (10-8PL)
55
at
61
Colgate
15-16 (12-6PL)
1
2
F
Lehigh
32
23
55
Colgate
42
19
61
Mountain Hawks fall short in regular season finale at Colgate, 61-55
2/28/2015 2:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
| Purchase Tickets to Thursday's Patriot League Quarterfinal vs. American
HAMILTON, N.Y. - Trailing by 10 at the half, the Lehigh men's basketball team clawed back into the game, but couldn't get any closer than two as Colgate won the regular season finale, 61-55 on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Tim Kempton led the way with a game-high 18 points including 10 early in the first half. He added 10 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season and 19th of his career. The Mountain Hawks will enter the Patriot League Tournament as the #3 seed, owning a 16-13 overall record and 10-8 league mark, and will host sixth-seeded American on Thursday evening in Stabler Arena. Tickets are now available on LehighTickets.com.
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"It's unfortunate that we weren't able to string things together," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "I thought the energy and the emotion of Colgate's play got us a little bit on our heels and a little bit out of sorts. Tim was outstanding in the first half and then struggled a little bit in the second. Fortunately, we were able to clean up the glass with eight second-half offensive rebounds, but our conversion rate was not as high as it needed to be. It was unfortunate that our offense didn't match some of our defensive adjustments in the second half to give us a chance."
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Kempton's 18 points came on 8-of-17 shooting, 12 points coming in the first half. Classmate Austin Price enjoyed a strong game, tallying 16 points including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Freshman Brandon Alston also added 10 points off the bench.
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Colgate featured balanced scoring with three players tied for a team-lead 11 points.
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"Give Colgate credit. They were 9-for-12 at one point from the three-point line," said Reed. "I'm glad we were able to get our feet back underneath us defensively, but we unfortunately didn't prevail."
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Kempton was the story early on, scoring six of Lehigh's first nine points as the Mountain Hawks took a 9-4 lead following a Kempton layup with 16:01 on the clock. That wrapped up a 7-0 run, which began with a Price three-pointer.
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After breaking almost a four-minute scoreless drought, Colgate got hot from behind the three-point arc. Austin Tillotson began the run with two straight treys while Ethan Jacobs followed with two in a row from long range. The Mountain Hawks were keeping up on their end, however, as Price knocked down two threes in that span while Kempton continued his hot start, reaching 10 points before the game was eight minutes old.
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A Kahron Ross jumper marked Lehigh's first points from other than Price and Kempton, making it 21-20 with 12:20 remaining. The Mountain Hawks' lead reached four at 27-23 after an Alston jumper as he accounted for six straight Lehigh points.
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Lehigh's offense sputtered from there, not scoring for almost six minutes before a Ross three-pointer pulled his squad within 35-30 with 4:37 on the clock.
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Colgate's hot shooting continued as the Raiders answered with a 7-0 run before a Kempton basket pulled the Mountain Hawks within 42-32 at the half.
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Kempton led Lehigh with 12 first-half points and five rebounds, shooting 6-of-9 from the field. Price had nine points including 3-of-4 from long range. Jacobs had 11 first-half points to lead Colgate. Lehigh shot 50 percent from the field and 67 percent from three-point range compared to Colgate's 59 percent and 59 percent from long distance.
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Colgate's lead hovered between eight and 10 for the beginning stages of the second half. After a Tillotson jumper made it 50-40, Lehigh answered with eight straight points. The run began with a Kempton layup, included an Alston layup and ended with a Ross steal and fastbreak layup to pull within 50-46 with 11:50 on the clock. A Ross driving layup pulled the Mountain Hawks within 50-48.
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Colgate's Sean O'Brien hit a three-pointer with just under nine minutes remaining to snap more than a four-minute scoreless drought, giving the Raiders a 53-48 advantage. The Raiders' lead reached eight at 56-48 until an Alston layup ended nearly a six-minute scoreless drought and pulled Lehigh within 56-50 with 4:39 on the clock.
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Colgate extended its lead back to double-figures at 61-50 with 2:52 remaining, but the Mountain Hawks wouldn't back down. Lehigh pressured and fouled down the stretch as Colgate missed some free throws and allowed the Mountain Hawks to hang around. A Price trey pulled Lehigh within six with 40 seconds remaining. Lehigh had some looks to pull within three, but they didn't fall and the Raiders hung on for the 61-55 victory.
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For the game, Lehigh shot 40 percent (23-of-57) and 29 percent from three-point range (5-of-17). Colgate finished at 50 percent (24-of-48) and 55 percent from long distance (12-of-22).The Raiders held a 33-31 edge on the glass.
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Lehigh now looks ahead to a home Patriot League Quarterfinal Game against American next Thursday (Mar. 5) at 7 p.m. in Stabler Arena. Tickets are now on sale by clicking here.
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"We've got to take care of our business," said Reed. "It's a new season, an opportunity to start from scratch. In this league, this year, this Patriot League Tournament could be anybody's game."
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.Â
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HAMILTON, N.Y. - Trailing by 10 at the half, the Lehigh men's basketball team clawed back into the game, but couldn't get any closer than two as Colgate won the regular season finale, 61-55 on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Tim Kempton led the way with a game-high 18 points including 10 early in the first half. He added 10 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season and 19th of his career. The Mountain Hawks will enter the Patriot League Tournament as the #3 seed, owning a 16-13 overall record and 10-8 league mark, and will host sixth-seeded American on Thursday evening in Stabler Arena. Tickets are now available on LehighTickets.com.
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"It's unfortunate that we weren't able to string things together," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "I thought the energy and the emotion of Colgate's play got us a little bit on our heels and a little bit out of sorts. Tim was outstanding in the first half and then struggled a little bit in the second. Fortunately, we were able to clean up the glass with eight second-half offensive rebounds, but our conversion rate was not as high as it needed to be. It was unfortunate that our offense didn't match some of our defensive adjustments in the second half to give us a chance."
Â
Kempton's 18 points came on 8-of-17 shooting, 12 points coming in the first half. Classmate Austin Price enjoyed a strong game, tallying 16 points including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Freshman Brandon Alston also added 10 points off the bench.
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Colgate featured balanced scoring with three players tied for a team-lead 11 points.
Â
"Give Colgate credit. They were 9-for-12 at one point from the three-point line," said Reed. "I'm glad we were able to get our feet back underneath us defensively, but we unfortunately didn't prevail."
Â
Kempton was the story early on, scoring six of Lehigh's first nine points as the Mountain Hawks took a 9-4 lead following a Kempton layup with 16:01 on the clock. That wrapped up a 7-0 run, which began with a Price three-pointer.
Â
After breaking almost a four-minute scoreless drought, Colgate got hot from behind the three-point arc. Austin Tillotson began the run with two straight treys while Ethan Jacobs followed with two in a row from long range. The Mountain Hawks were keeping up on their end, however, as Price knocked down two threes in that span while Kempton continued his hot start, reaching 10 points before the game was eight minutes old.
Â
A Kahron Ross jumper marked Lehigh's first points from other than Price and Kempton, making it 21-20 with 12:20 remaining. The Mountain Hawks' lead reached four at 27-23 after an Alston jumper as he accounted for six straight Lehigh points.
Â
Lehigh's offense sputtered from there, not scoring for almost six minutes before a Ross three-pointer pulled his squad within 35-30 with 4:37 on the clock.
Â
Colgate's hot shooting continued as the Raiders answered with a 7-0 run before a Kempton basket pulled the Mountain Hawks within 42-32 at the half.
Â
Kempton led Lehigh with 12 first-half points and five rebounds, shooting 6-of-9 from the field. Price had nine points including 3-of-4 from long range. Jacobs had 11 first-half points to lead Colgate. Lehigh shot 50 percent from the field and 67 percent from three-point range compared to Colgate's 59 percent and 59 percent from long distance.
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Colgate's lead hovered between eight and 10 for the beginning stages of the second half. After a Tillotson jumper made it 50-40, Lehigh answered with eight straight points. The run began with a Kempton layup, included an Alston layup and ended with a Ross steal and fastbreak layup to pull within 50-46 with 11:50 on the clock. A Ross driving layup pulled the Mountain Hawks within 50-48.
Â
Colgate's Sean O'Brien hit a three-pointer with just under nine minutes remaining to snap more than a four-minute scoreless drought, giving the Raiders a 53-48 advantage. The Raiders' lead reached eight at 56-48 until an Alston layup ended nearly a six-minute scoreless drought and pulled Lehigh within 56-50 with 4:39 on the clock.
Â
Colgate extended its lead back to double-figures at 61-50 with 2:52 remaining, but the Mountain Hawks wouldn't back down. Lehigh pressured and fouled down the stretch as Colgate missed some free throws and allowed the Mountain Hawks to hang around. A Price trey pulled Lehigh within six with 40 seconds remaining. Lehigh had some looks to pull within three, but they didn't fall and the Raiders hung on for the 61-55 victory.
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For the game, Lehigh shot 40 percent (23-of-57) and 29 percent from three-point range (5-of-17). Colgate finished at 50 percent (24-of-48) and 55 percent from long distance (12-of-22).The Raiders held a 33-31 edge on the glass.
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Lehigh now looks ahead to a home Patriot League Quarterfinal Game against American next Thursday (Mar. 5) at 7 p.m. in Stabler Arena. Tickets are now on sale by clicking here.
Â
"We've got to take care of our business," said Reed. "It's a new season, an opportunity to start from scratch. In this league, this year, this Patriot League Tournament could be anybody's game."
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.Â
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
COLGATEM
FG%
.404
.500
3FG%
.294
.545
FT%
1.000
.143
RB
31
33
TO
9
12
STL
8
4
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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