
Mountain Hawks head to Yale for Thursday night showdown
11/15/2016 6:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | Watch Live (Yale Day Pass: $9.95) | Listen Live | Live Stats
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Coming off a hard-fought, back-and-forth three-point defeat at No. 7/8 Xavier last Friday, the Lehigh men's basketball team hits the road on Thursday for another challenging matchup when the Mountain Hawks face defending Ivy League champion Yale. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Lehigh fell behind by 12 early on Friday, but rebounded in a big way, eventually taking a second-half lead and having two looks from the behind the arc in the final seconds that would have tied the score and forced overtime.
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Thursday's game will be aired live on the Ivy League Digital Network. Fans can purchase a day pass for $9.95.
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Senior Tim Kempton led the Mountain Hawks offensively with 25 points behind 9-of-16 shooting while adding of 16 shooting. Included were five points in the game's final 40 seconds to help set Lehigh up with a chance to tie in the final seconds. Down three, the Mountain Hawks' three-pointers, from junior Kahron Ross and senior Austin Price, were off the mark and Xavier wrapped up the 84-81 win. Ross finished the game with 12 assists compared to only three turnovers in 37 minutes at point guard. The 12 assists were just two from tying his own school record of 14 which he originally set during his freshman season at Arizona State.
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Price also finished with double-figure points, scoring 11 while sophomore Matt Holba scored nine points in his collegiate debut on 4-of-4 shooting. Junior Brandon Alston scored nine points in his first action since the 2014-15 season, finishing 3-of-5 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range. Freshman Jordan Cohen knocked down his first three career three-pointers, finishing with nine points on 3-of-4 from long range, while classmate Pat Andree knocked down his first collegiate three-point attempt and finished with five points and two boards.
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The Mountain Hawks finished the game shooting 50 percent (29-of-58), including 39 percent from three-point range (9-of-23). Xavier shot 61 percent in the first half, but only 39 percent in the second half as the Lehigh defense allowed just 36 second-half points following 48 in the first half. Edmond Sumner and Trevon Bluiett, two of the 50 players nation-wide named to the Naismith Watch List, combined for 49 points for the Musketeers. In the end, Lehigh fell just short of snapping Xavier's 26-game season-opening winning streak and 16-game home-opening streak. The Mountain Hawks dropped their eighth straight season opener.
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Over Lehigh's last three games against Big East opponents, the Mountain Hawks have only been outscored by two (235-233). Lehigh lost to No. 12 Villanova on Nov. 14, 2014 (77-66), defeated DePaul on Nov. 26, 2014 (86-74) and lost to No. 7/8 Xavier on Friday (84-81). Against Villanova, Lehigh also took a second-half lead while the Mountain Hawks earned a wire-to-wire win at DePaul.
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Thursday marks the first of two straight games against Ivy League opponents as the Mountain Hawks will host preseason Ivy League favorite Princeton on Sunday. Lehigh's challenging November slate also includes games at Mississippi State, Arkansas State and La Salle.
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Yale has lost many key members of last season's Ivy League Championship team, which went on to defeat Baylor in the NCAA Tournament. Among those lost were Justin Sears, Brandon Sherrod and Nick Victor. In addition, the team's point guard Makai Mason, who led the Bulldogs in scoring last season, was lost due to injury. Despite that, Yale went to Washington and won its season opener on Sunday evening, 98-90. Sam Downey, who is the team's leading returning scorer (besides Mason), posted 22 points and seven boards while freshman Miye Oni poured in 24 points and six boards. The Bulldogs opened up a 14-point halftime lead and held off a late Washington charge which saw the Huskies pull as close as four.
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The all-time series between Lehigh and Yale is tied at eight. Last season, the Bulldogs won 79-67 in the first meeting between the two teams since 2010, a 62-57 Mountain Hawks' victory on New Year's Eve. Prior to last season's defeat, Lehigh had won five straight meetings between the two sides, dating back to 1997. The two teams first met in 1903-04, a 20-14 Yale win. Yale won the first five meetings before Lehigh's first win on Jan. 9, 1993, 54-53.
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The Mountain Hawks will return home on Sunday to host preseason Ivy League favorite Princeton for their home opener. Opening tipoff in Stabler Arena is set for 2 p.m. For tickets, go to www.LehighTickets.com or click here.
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Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Coming off a hard-fought, back-and-forth three-point defeat at No. 7/8 Xavier last Friday, the Lehigh men's basketball team hits the road on Thursday for another challenging matchup when the Mountain Hawks face defending Ivy League champion Yale. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Lehigh fell behind by 12 early on Friday, but rebounded in a big way, eventually taking a second-half lead and having two looks from the behind the arc in the final seconds that would have tied the score and forced overtime.
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Thursday's game will be aired live on the Ivy League Digital Network. Fans can purchase a day pass for $9.95.
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Senior Tim Kempton led the Mountain Hawks offensively with 25 points behind 9-of-16 shooting while adding of 16 shooting. Included were five points in the game's final 40 seconds to help set Lehigh up with a chance to tie in the final seconds. Down three, the Mountain Hawks' three-pointers, from junior Kahron Ross and senior Austin Price, were off the mark and Xavier wrapped up the 84-81 win. Ross finished the game with 12 assists compared to only three turnovers in 37 minutes at point guard. The 12 assists were just two from tying his own school record of 14 which he originally set during his freshman season at Arizona State.
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Price also finished with double-figure points, scoring 11 while sophomore Matt Holba scored nine points in his collegiate debut on 4-of-4 shooting. Junior Brandon Alston scored nine points in his first action since the 2014-15 season, finishing 3-of-5 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range. Freshman Jordan Cohen knocked down his first three career three-pointers, finishing with nine points on 3-of-4 from long range, while classmate Pat Andree knocked down his first collegiate three-point attempt and finished with five points and two boards.
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The Mountain Hawks finished the game shooting 50 percent (29-of-58), including 39 percent from three-point range (9-of-23). Xavier shot 61 percent in the first half, but only 39 percent in the second half as the Lehigh defense allowed just 36 second-half points following 48 in the first half. Edmond Sumner and Trevon Bluiett, two of the 50 players nation-wide named to the Naismith Watch List, combined for 49 points for the Musketeers. In the end, Lehigh fell just short of snapping Xavier's 26-game season-opening winning streak and 16-game home-opening streak. The Mountain Hawks dropped their eighth straight season opener.
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Over Lehigh's last three games against Big East opponents, the Mountain Hawks have only been outscored by two (235-233). Lehigh lost to No. 12 Villanova on Nov. 14, 2014 (77-66), defeated DePaul on Nov. 26, 2014 (86-74) and lost to No. 7/8 Xavier on Friday (84-81). Against Villanova, Lehigh also took a second-half lead while the Mountain Hawks earned a wire-to-wire win at DePaul.
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Thursday marks the first of two straight games against Ivy League opponents as the Mountain Hawks will host preseason Ivy League favorite Princeton on Sunday. Lehigh's challenging November slate also includes games at Mississippi State, Arkansas State and La Salle.
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Yale has lost many key members of last season's Ivy League Championship team, which went on to defeat Baylor in the NCAA Tournament. Among those lost were Justin Sears, Brandon Sherrod and Nick Victor. In addition, the team's point guard Makai Mason, who led the Bulldogs in scoring last season, was lost due to injury. Despite that, Yale went to Washington and won its season opener on Sunday evening, 98-90. Sam Downey, who is the team's leading returning scorer (besides Mason), posted 22 points and seven boards while freshman Miye Oni poured in 24 points and six boards. The Bulldogs opened up a 14-point halftime lead and held off a late Washington charge which saw the Huskies pull as close as four.
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The all-time series between Lehigh and Yale is tied at eight. Last season, the Bulldogs won 79-67 in the first meeting between the two teams since 2010, a 62-57 Mountain Hawks' victory on New Year's Eve. Prior to last season's defeat, Lehigh had won five straight meetings between the two sides, dating back to 1997. The two teams first met in 1903-04, a 20-14 Yale win. Yale won the first five meetings before Lehigh's first win on Jan. 9, 1993, 54-53.
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The Mountain Hawks will return home on Sunday to host preseason Ivy League favorite Princeton for their home opener. Opening tipoff in Stabler Arena is set for 2 p.m. For tickets, go to www.LehighTickets.com or click here.
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Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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Date: | November 17, 2016 |
Opponent: | Yale Bulldogs |
Tip-off: | 7:00 PM |
Arena/Capacity: | John J. Lee Amphitheater/2,800 |
Location: | New Haven, Conn. |
Lehigh's Record: | 0-1, 0-0 Patriot League  |
Yale's Record: | 1-0, 0-0 Ivy League |
Series: | Tied, 8-8 |
Radio: | Live on ESPN Radio 1160, 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30 PM |
Television: | None |
Internet Video: | Ivy League Digital Network |
Behind Enemy Lines: | Yale Official Website |
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