Wednesday, November 30
Philadelphia, Pa.
7 PM
Lehigh University
2-4
81
at
89
La Salle
3-2
1
2
F
Lehigh
37
44
81
La Salle
42
47
89
Second half surge leads La Salle past Lehigh, 89-81
11/30/2016 9:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
| Head Coach Brett Reed Postgame
PHILADELPHIA - La Salle used an 8-0 run early in the second half to turn a nip-and-tuck game into an 11-point lead, Lehigh pulled as close as four, but the deficit was too much to overcome in an 89-81 loss on Wednesday evening at the Tom Gola Center. Junior Brandon Alston led the Lehigh offense with a career-high 18 points as five Mountain Hawks finished in double figures for the second time in the last three games. Senior Tim Kempton added 12 points to move into a tie for 10 place in Lehigh history with 1,524 career points.
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"If our team is going to progress the way we need to, our defensive commitment has to improve. I sound like a broken record, but it couldn't be more true," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Offensively, if you hit 11 threes and hit 57 percent from the field, you should win."
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Alston finished the evening 7-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. Kempton's 12 points came on 6-of-11 shooting while he finished just one rebound shy of a double-double. Senior Austin Price also scored 15 points, junior Kahron Ross had 14 and sophomore Kyle Leufroy added 11, but in the end, La Salle's offense proved too much as the Explorers shot 53 percent from the field and got to the free throw line 21 times.
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"Here's what I would like our players to understand. We are putting them in very challenging positions," said Reed. "La Salle and some of the other teams that we've played can score the ball. They can flat-out score the ball. So when you make a mistake tonight against La Salle, it's buckets. Sometimes when you make mistakes against other people, you can cover it up and they don't make you pay. La Salle and some of these other teams, they make you pay. That's the eye-opening lesson I would like our team to learn, so we move forward and we get those stops. We cannot continue to give up 85 plus points and expect to win basketball games."
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Lehigh got off to a fast start, taking an 8-4 lead following a Leufroy three-pointer with 16:57 left in the first half.
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The Mountain Hawks continued to hold a lead over the ensuing minutes before B.J. Johnson knocked down consecutive three-pointers to give La Salle its first lead at 13-12 with 13:50 on the clock.
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Lehigh answered with the next four points, behind a Kempton jumper and Leufroy layup, helping the Mountain Hawks open a 16-13 advantage, but the Explorers responded to take leads of 19-16, 22-19, 25-22 and 27-25.
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A Matt Holba three-pointer gave Lehigh a 28-27 lead, but La Salle answered with seven of the next nine points to take a 34-30 advantage with 4:26 left in the first half. The Explorers eventually opened a six-point, 40-34 lead, but the Mountain Hawks pulled within five (42-37) at the break.
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A Price three-pointer on Lehigh's first second-half possession pulled the Mountain Hawks within two, but not long after, La Salle staged an 8-0 run to turn a three-point lead into an 11-point advantage as a Cleon Roberts trey gave the Explorers a 51-40 lead with 17:34 on the clock.
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Ross hit a three-pointer with 14:12 remaining in the second half, and freshman Jordan Cohen knocked down a trey less than a minute later, but La Salle continued to be potent on the offensive end, scoring four straight points to take a 65-50 lead.
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Trailing 76-65 with just over five minutes remaining, Lehigh wouldn't go away quietly as a Price layup pulled Lehigh within seven at 76-69 with 4:26 remaining. The margin again swelled to 11, but a Ross three-point play pulled the Mountain Hawks within eight at 80-72 with 2:58 on the clock. Lehigh pulled as close as six with 34 seconds still to go then four with 17 seconds remaining, but La Salle hit its final four free throws to wrap up the 89-81 win.
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The Mountain Hawks shot 57 percent for the game (32-of-56), including 50 percent from three-point range (11-of-22). The Explorers finished at 53 percent (31-of-59), including 41 percent from long distance (11-of-27). La Salle was 16-of-21 from the free throw line while Lehigh finished just 6-of-11. The Explorers held a 33-26 edge in rebounds.
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The Mountain Hawks will return home to host Robert Morris this Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets are available and can be purchased online by clicking 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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PHILADELPHIA - La Salle used an 8-0 run early in the second half to turn a nip-and-tuck game into an 11-point lead, Lehigh pulled as close as four, but the deficit was too much to overcome in an 89-81 loss on Wednesday evening at the Tom Gola Center. Junior Brandon Alston led the Lehigh offense with a career-high 18 points as five Mountain Hawks finished in double figures for the second time in the last three games. Senior Tim Kempton added 12 points to move into a tie for 10 place in Lehigh history with 1,524 career points.
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"If our team is going to progress the way we need to, our defensive commitment has to improve. I sound like a broken record, but it couldn't be more true," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Offensively, if you hit 11 threes and hit 57 percent from the field, you should win."
Â
Alston finished the evening 7-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. Kempton's 12 points came on 6-of-11 shooting while he finished just one rebound shy of a double-double. Senior Austin Price also scored 15 points, junior Kahron Ross had 14 and sophomore Kyle Leufroy added 11, but in the end, La Salle's offense proved too much as the Explorers shot 53 percent from the field and got to the free throw line 21 times.
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"Here's what I would like our players to understand. We are putting them in very challenging positions," said Reed. "La Salle and some of the other teams that we've played can score the ball. They can flat-out score the ball. So when you make a mistake tonight against La Salle, it's buckets. Sometimes when you make mistakes against other people, you can cover it up and they don't make you pay. La Salle and some of these other teams, they make you pay. That's the eye-opening lesson I would like our team to learn, so we move forward and we get those stops. We cannot continue to give up 85 plus points and expect to win basketball games."
Â
Lehigh got off to a fast start, taking an 8-4 lead following a Leufroy three-pointer with 16:57 left in the first half.
Â
The Mountain Hawks continued to hold a lead over the ensuing minutes before B.J. Johnson knocked down consecutive three-pointers to give La Salle its first lead at 13-12 with 13:50 on the clock.
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Lehigh answered with the next four points, behind a Kempton jumper and Leufroy layup, helping the Mountain Hawks open a 16-13 advantage, but the Explorers responded to take leads of 19-16, 22-19, 25-22 and 27-25.
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A Matt Holba three-pointer gave Lehigh a 28-27 lead, but La Salle answered with seven of the next nine points to take a 34-30 advantage with 4:26 left in the first half. The Explorers eventually opened a six-point, 40-34 lead, but the Mountain Hawks pulled within five (42-37) at the break.
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A Price three-pointer on Lehigh's first second-half possession pulled the Mountain Hawks within two, but not long after, La Salle staged an 8-0 run to turn a three-point lead into an 11-point advantage as a Cleon Roberts trey gave the Explorers a 51-40 lead with 17:34 on the clock.
Â
Ross hit a three-pointer with 14:12 remaining in the second half, and freshman Jordan Cohen knocked down a trey less than a minute later, but La Salle continued to be potent on the offensive end, scoring four straight points to take a 65-50 lead.
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Trailing 76-65 with just over five minutes remaining, Lehigh wouldn't go away quietly as a Price layup pulled Lehigh within seven at 76-69 with 4:26 remaining. The margin again swelled to 11, but a Ross three-point play pulled the Mountain Hawks within eight at 80-72 with 2:58 on the clock. Lehigh pulled as close as six with 34 seconds still to go then four with 17 seconds remaining, but La Salle hit its final four free throws to wrap up the 89-81 win.
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The Mountain Hawks shot 57 percent for the game (32-of-56), including 50 percent from three-point range (11-of-22). The Explorers finished at 53 percent (31-of-59), including 41 percent from long distance (11-of-27). La Salle was 16-of-21 from the free throw line while Lehigh finished just 6-of-11. The Explorers held a 33-26 edge in rebounds.
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The Mountain Hawks will return home to host Robert Morris this Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets are available and can be purchased online by clicking 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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Team Stats
LEHIGH
LAS
FG%
.571
.525
3FG%
.500
.407
FT%
.545
.762
RB
26
33
TO
11
9
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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F
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