Wednesday, February 4
Stabler Arena
7:00 pm
Lehigh University
12-10, 6-5PL
103
vs
74
Army
14-8, 5-6PL
1
2
F
Army
36
38
74
Lehigh
61
42
103
Lehigh earns dominant 103-74 win over Army
2/4/2015 10:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team exploded for 61 first-half points and carried that momentum for the entire 40 minutes as the Mountain Hawks earned a dominant 103-74 win over Army on Wednesday evening in Stabler Arena. In the process, Lehigh scored its most points since 2004 and became the first Patriot League team to eclipse 100 points in a league game since Colgate beat Navy 100-91 on Jan. 10, 2010. Sophomore Miles Simelton led the way with career highs in points (18) and assists (6).
"It was a great team. We had solid contributions from so many different guys on our team," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "It was nice that everybody could come into the game and contribute at what amounted to a very high level. The other thing that was very noteworthy was that we had 29 assists on 35 field goals. It shows you the unity and sharing the basketball that we're experiencing with this team. That's a beautiful thing. I also think it symbolizes a team that really cares about each other."
Fifteen of Simelton's 18 points came in the first half as he finished the game 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Sophomore Tim Kempton tallied 17 points and eight rebounds while junior Jesse Chuku had a season-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Sophomore Austin Price also tallied 14 points while senior Corey Schaefer had ten on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting.
"I thought we got some terrific bench contributions tonight," said Reed. "Miles played very well. He knocked down shots, had the ball in his hands and played with a great deal of confidence. The other guy who's given us a shot in the arm the last two games is Jesse Chuku. His ability to stretch the defense and his ability to give a little bit of a different look on offense really complements what we do so well."
The Mountain Hawks completed the season sweep of Army as both teams entered the game with identical 5-5 league marks as part of a logjam in the Patriot League standings. After Wednesday's action, Lehigh remains in a three-way tie with Lafayette and American for third place in the league. The Mountain Hawks also move two games over .500 for the first time this season, standing at 12-10 overall.
The 103 points marked a season high and the first time Lehigh eclipsed 100 points against a Division I opponent since Dec. 1, 2012, a 102-62 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. The 103 points were Lehigh's most since Jan. 23, 2004, a 111-104 overtime loss at Lafayette and most in a win (and most in regulation) since a 105-89 victory over Cornell on Nov. 26, 1994.
Lehigh eclipsed 50 percent shooting for a second straight game and third time in the last four games; the Mountain Hawks shot 56 percent from the field. The facilitator of the offense was freshman Kahron Ross, who reached double-figure assists for a second straight game and fourth time this season. He had 11 helpers to zero turnovers while adding seven points. Ross now has 134 assists this season, moving him from 14th in school history for a single season (entering the game) to seventh.
A pair of Larry Toomey free throws gave Army an early 6-4 lead, but the Mountain Hawks scored 12 of the next 17 points as a Price three-pointer gave his squad a 16-9 lead with 15:23 left in the first half.
The teams traded baskets over the ensuing minutes until a Tanner Plomb trey pulled the Black Knights within 20-17. Another Plomb trey pulled Army within 25-22, but a Simelton three-pointer helped spark a 12-0 run. Simelton scored five points in that span, then answered a Plomb trey with another three-pointer, to make it 40-25 with 5:56 on the first-half clock.
Leading 43-28, the Mountain Hawks staged a 10-0 run, beginning with a Ross free throw followed by an emphatic fastbreak dunk from Chuku and ending with a Simelton trey, to make it 53-28 with 2:31 left in the first half.
Army pulled within 21 in the final two minutes, but a Price three-pointer as the first half expired gave the Mountain Hawks a 61-36 advantage after 20 minutes of play. The 61 points were just one shy of tying a Stabler Arena record for points in any half (by either team, home or away).
Simelton led the way with 15 first-half points while Kempton had 12 points and Chuku tallied 11. Plomb led the Black Knights with 17 first-half points. Lehigh shot a blistering 64 percent in the first half (23-of-36) and 54 percent from long range (7-of-13) while Army shot 43 percent (12-of-28) and 62 percent from three (8-of-13).
Army scored five of the first seven second-half points, but the Mountain Hawks wouldn't let the Black Knights pull any closer than 22 the rest of the way. The lead hovered between 25 and 29 through the middle stages of the second half until a layup from senior Conroy Baltimore gave the Mountain Hawks their first 30-point lead, making it 79-48 with 11:04 on the clock. Baltimore enjoyed a strong game with seven points and three rebounds in just five minutes of action.
The Black Knights pulled within 24 after a pair of Scott Mammel free throws made it 86-62, but Lehigh immediately answered with a 7-0 run as a Schaefer three-pointer made it 93-62 Mountain Hawks with 5:14 remaining.
Lehigh's bench players saw significant minutes down the stretch as sophomore John Ross Glover, freshman Tyler Jenkins, sophomore Cole Renninger and senior Khalid McCaskill all scored points to help the Mountain Hawks reach the century mark. A Glover layup off a feed from sophomore Georgios Pilitsis made it 100-67 as Lehigh wrapped up the 103-74 victory.
Lehigh shot 56 percent for the game (35-of-63) and 50 percent from three-point range (9-of-18). Army shot 34 percent (21-of-62) and 38 percent from long distance (12-of-32). The Mountain Hawks dominated the boards, 41-30.
The Mountain Hawks now hit the road on Saturday at Loyola. Lehigh returns home next Thursday (Feb. 12) to host American at 7 p.m. That game will air nation-wide on CBS Sports Network.
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Team Stats
ARMY
LEHIGH
FG%
.339
.556
3FG%
.375
.500
FT%
.833
.706
RB
30
41
TO
15
10
STL
5
9
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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