Wednesday, November 30
Philadelphia, Pa.
7 PM
Lehigh University
at
La Salle
Mountain Hawks return to action at La Salle Wednesday night
11/29/2016 11:59:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | Watch Live (Free)Â | Listen Live | Live Stats
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team will look to bounce back from a tough loss at Arkansas State Sunday when it travels to Philadelphia Wednesday for a matchup against in-state foe La Salle. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Despite Sunday's loss, the Mountain Hawks are 2-1 over their last three games with quality wins against preseason Ivy League favorite Princeton and SEC foe Mississippi State, for Lehigh's first-ever victory against the SEC.
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At Arkansas State, the score was tied at 15, but then the Red Wolves responded with a 12-0 run which extended to 22-4. Lehigh fell into a 53-32 halftime deficit and went down by as many as 29 in the second half, but the Mountain Hawks wouldn't go away quietly. Still trailing by 20 with less than three minutes remaining, Lehigh went on to score 21 of the next 28 points. Junior Brandon Alston scored all 12 of his points in the game's final 3:27 and freshman Jordan Cohen's third three-pointer of the game pulled the Mountain Hawks within six, but only 14 seconds remained. In the end, Lehigh scored 57 second-half points, its most points in a half since scoring 61 in the first half against Army West Point on Feb. 4, 2015. Alston also grabbed a career-high eight rebounds while sophomore Matt Holba dished a career-high four assists.
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Senior Tim Kempton and junior Kahron Ross led the offense, combining for 51 points on 21-of-33 shooting. Kempton tied a career-high 30 points, 18 coming in the second half on a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor. In the process, he eclipsed 1,500 career points, becoming just the 12th player in school history and 29th in Patriot League history to reach that plateau. Kempton grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds as well for his third double-double of the season and 36th of his career. In his homecoming game, Ross eclipsed 20 points for the third time in his career, finishing with 21. The Jonesboro native was 8-of-15 from the floor, this coming after a strong 18-point effort in Friday's win at Mississippi State.
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On Wednesday at La Salle, Kempton could move into the top 10 in school history in career points. He is currently in 12th place with 1,512, but only trails 11th place Marquis Hall by two (1,514) and 10th place Matt Logie by 12 (1,524). With a strong effort, Kempton could jump three spots as Gabe Knutson stands ninth with 1,526 career points. In addition, Kempton needs just 14 points to jump into the top 25 in Patriot League history for career points. Knutson and Bucknell's Cameron Ayers are currently tied for 25th with 1,526 points.
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Lehigh will be facing La Salle for the first time since Feb. 16, 1983. The Mountain Hawks will be vying for the program's second win against La Salle as they currently stand 1-14 against the Explorers. Lehigh has beaten just three current Atlantic 10 programs, one of them being La Salle. Its most recent A-10 win came at Fordham in December of 2012. Both Lehigh and La Salle head coaches Brett Reed and John Giannini have earned PhD's, the only two Division I coaches in the nation known to have their doctorates.
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Just four seasons removed from a trip to the Sweet 16, La Salle stands 2-2 on the season, earning its wins over Delaware and last time out against Drexel, while falling against Temple and Texas Southern. Eleven different Explorers have started at least one game this season. They're led offensively by Syracuse transfer B.J. Johnson who's averaging 17.0 points and 4.0 rebounds. Returning leading scorer Jordan Price is right behind at 16.3 points per contest. Pookie Powell comes in at 12.8 points and 5.0 boards while Cleon Roberts has averaged 11.3 points, due in large part to his sensational three-point shooting. Through four games, he's shooting an incredible 80 percent from long distance (12-of-15). Like Lehigh, La Salle's games have featured a lot of points. While the Mountain Hawks are averaging 82.8 points while allowing 82.0, the Explorers are averaging an identical 82.8 and giving up an average of 80.0 points.
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La Salle leads the all-time series against Lehigh, 14-1 with the last meeting coming back on Feb. 16, 1983 - a 46-44 La Salle win. Overall, La Salle has won eight straight following Lehigh's only all-time win against the Explorers which came during the 1971-72 season by a 69-64 final. The schools first met during the 1958-59 campaign, an 81-47 La Salle victory. The last time Lehigh and La Salle met, the Patriot League hadn't been created and La Salle wasn't in the Atlantic 10. The Patriot League was formed in 1986 while La Salle joined the A-10 in 1995.
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Following Wednesday's game, the Mountain Hawks will return home to host Robert Morris this Saturday at 2 p.m.
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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. - The Lehigh men's basketball team will look to bounce back from a tough loss at Arkansas State Sunday when it travels to Philadelphia Wednesday for a matchup against in-state foe La Salle. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Despite Sunday's loss, the Mountain Hawks are 2-1 over their last three games with quality wins against preseason Ivy League favorite Princeton and SEC foe Mississippi State, for Lehigh's first-ever victory against the SEC.
Â
At Arkansas State, the score was tied at 15, but then the Red Wolves responded with a 12-0 run which extended to 22-4. Lehigh fell into a 53-32 halftime deficit and went down by as many as 29 in the second half, but the Mountain Hawks wouldn't go away quietly. Still trailing by 20 with less than three minutes remaining, Lehigh went on to score 21 of the next 28 points. Junior Brandon Alston scored all 12 of his points in the game's final 3:27 and freshman Jordan Cohen's third three-pointer of the game pulled the Mountain Hawks within six, but only 14 seconds remained. In the end, Lehigh scored 57 second-half points, its most points in a half since scoring 61 in the first half against Army West Point on Feb. 4, 2015. Alston also grabbed a career-high eight rebounds while sophomore Matt Holba dished a career-high four assists.
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Senior Tim Kempton and junior Kahron Ross led the offense, combining for 51 points on 21-of-33 shooting. Kempton tied a career-high 30 points, 18 coming in the second half on a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor. In the process, he eclipsed 1,500 career points, becoming just the 12th player in school history and 29th in Patriot League history to reach that plateau. Kempton grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds as well for his third double-double of the season and 36th of his career. In his homecoming game, Ross eclipsed 20 points for the third time in his career, finishing with 21. The Jonesboro native was 8-of-15 from the floor, this coming after a strong 18-point effort in Friday's win at Mississippi State.
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On Wednesday at La Salle, Kempton could move into the top 10 in school history in career points. He is currently in 12th place with 1,512, but only trails 11th place Marquis Hall by two (1,514) and 10th place Matt Logie by 12 (1,524). With a strong effort, Kempton could jump three spots as Gabe Knutson stands ninth with 1,526 career points. In addition, Kempton needs just 14 points to jump into the top 25 in Patriot League history for career points. Knutson and Bucknell's Cameron Ayers are currently tied for 25th with 1,526 points.
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Lehigh will be facing La Salle for the first time since Feb. 16, 1983. The Mountain Hawks will be vying for the program's second win against La Salle as they currently stand 1-14 against the Explorers. Lehigh has beaten just three current Atlantic 10 programs, one of them being La Salle. Its most recent A-10 win came at Fordham in December of 2012. Both Lehigh and La Salle head coaches Brett Reed and John Giannini have earned PhD's, the only two Division I coaches in the nation known to have their doctorates.
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Just four seasons removed from a trip to the Sweet 16, La Salle stands 2-2 on the season, earning its wins over Delaware and last time out against Drexel, while falling against Temple and Texas Southern. Eleven different Explorers have started at least one game this season. They're led offensively by Syracuse transfer B.J. Johnson who's averaging 17.0 points and 4.0 rebounds. Returning leading scorer Jordan Price is right behind at 16.3 points per contest. Pookie Powell comes in at 12.8 points and 5.0 boards while Cleon Roberts has averaged 11.3 points, due in large part to his sensational three-point shooting. Through four games, he's shooting an incredible 80 percent from long distance (12-of-15). Like Lehigh, La Salle's games have featured a lot of points. While the Mountain Hawks are averaging 82.8 points while allowing 82.0, the Explorers are averaging an identical 82.8 and giving up an average of 80.0 points.
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La Salle leads the all-time series against Lehigh, 14-1 with the last meeting coming back on Feb. 16, 1983 - a 46-44 La Salle win. Overall, La Salle has won eight straight following Lehigh's only all-time win against the Explorers which came during the 1971-72 season by a 69-64 final. The schools first met during the 1958-59 campaign, an 81-47 La Salle victory. The last time Lehigh and La Salle met, the Patriot League hadn't been created and La Salle wasn't in the Atlantic 10. The Patriot League was formed in 1986 while La Salle joined the A-10 in 1995.
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Following Wednesday's game, the Mountain Hawks will return home to host Robert Morris this Saturday at 2 p.m.
Â
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 30, 2016 |
| Opponent: | La Salle Explorers |
| Tip-off: | 7:00 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Tom Gola Arena/3,400 |
| Location: | Philadelphia, Pa. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 2-3, 0-0 Patriot League  |
| La Salle's Record: | 2-2, 0-0 Atlantic 10 |
| Series: | La Salle leads, 14-1 |
| Radio: | Live on ESPN Radio 1160/1230/1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon and Greg Falkenbach '72. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30 PM ET |
| Television: | None |
| Internet Video: | GoExplorers.TV |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | La Salle Official Website |
Players Mentioned
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