Monday, December 12
Stabler Arena
7 PM
Lehigh University
vs
Saint Francis (Pa.)
Lehigh hosts cross-state foe Saint Francis (Pa.) on Monday night
12/11/2016 3:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | Watch Live (Free) | Listen Live | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Following a strong 90-71 road win at Mount St. Mary's Saturday, the Lehigh men's basketball team returns home to wrap up nonleague play, beginning on Monday when it hosts Saint Francis (Pa.) at 7 p.m. The Mountain Hawks used a 17-0 run to pull away from the Mountaineers and earn their second road win of the season.
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Tickets for Monday's game are free with a Lehigh ID and as low as $5 for the general public. Lehigh students can take the Campus Connector bus to the game, with buses set to leave at 6:30 p.m. from Packer Ave. and Pi Beta Phi at 6:34, with buses running continually back from the Goodman Campus. 8:33, 8:53, 9:13, 9:33, etc. For the complete campus connector bus schedule, please click here.Â
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Lehigh led 38-33 at the half and then 49-44 five minutes into the second. That's when the Mountain Hawks went on their run, which began with four straight points from senior Austin Price, included six points from classmate Tim Kempton and ended with a three-pointer then fastbreak dunk from sophomore Matt Holba, giving Lehigh a 66-44 advantage with 9:23 on the second-half clock. Mount St. Mary's couldn't get any closer than 14 the rest of the way as the Mountain Hawks reached 90 points for the first time since scoring 103 against Army on Feb. 4, 2015.
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Kempton tied or set career highs in four separate categories. He set new highs in points (31) and free throws made (12) while tying his previous highs in rebounds (18) and blocks (3). Kempton had his fifth double-double of the season by halftime (10 points, 10 rebounds after 20 minutes). He scored 21 second-half points, the most points in a half by any Lehigh player since Kempton scored 23 in the first half at Holy Cross on Jan. 17, 2015. On Saturday, he finished 9-of-13 from the field and 12-of-13 from the free throw line. He was also critical in the Mountain Hawks' breaking Mount St. Mary's continued full-court press. The effort came in Kempton's 100th career game. After zero 30-point efforts in his first three seasons (91 games), he has three in his first nine games of his senior campaign. With his 31 points on Saturday, Kempton moved from ninth to eighth in school history and 21st to 17th in Patriot League history for career scoring, currently owning 1,597 points.
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Junior Kahron Ross added 16 points as he scored Lehigh's first six and was also a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line. It marked his sixth straight game with double-figure points. Price scored 13 points while Holba had nine points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field as Lehigh finished at 51 percent (28-of-55), the fifth time in the first nine games that the Mountain Hawks reached 50 percent. Sophomore Kyle Leufroy and freshman Pat Andree each added eight points as well.
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The Mountain Hawks finished with a dominant 43-23 edge in rebounds. The team's +20 margin marked its largest margin against a Division I opponent since outrebounding Navy by 24 (49-25) on Feb. 9, 2011. The win was Lehigh's 19th in its last 23 games against the Northeast Conference. The Mountain Hawks will face another NEC foe on Monday as they look to avenge last season's loss at Saint Francis (Pa.).
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Saint Francis stands 3-4 on the season, highlighted by a three-game winning streak which included a 69-62 win over American of the Patriot League. The Red Flash have lost two straight, most recently dropping a 73-70 final against Binghamton. Jamaal King leads the team in scoring (14.0 points per game) while Josh Nebo is right behind at 13.4 with 8.7 boards per contest, tied for the team lead. Keith Braxton also averages 8.7 rebounds to go with his 12.9 scoring average. In total, four different Red Flash average double-figure points. After Saint Francis' last game, the Red Flash stood 25th nationally in field goal percentage (.496) and sixth in three-point percentage (.432). Saint Francis is also top 100 nationally in rebounds per game (38.9). The team's 81.7 points per game stood 52nd in the nation.
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Saint Francis earned a 84-73 home win over Lehigh last season to snap a nine-game Mountain Hawks' winning streak and pull within 9-4 in the all-time series. Prior to last year, the previous Lehigh loss in the series came on Dec. 30, 1977 by an 87-71 final. The Mountain Hawks have beaten the Red Flash four straight times at home, last time pulling out a 61-59 win on Dec. 3, 2014 in Stabler Arena. Kempton posted his first-career double-double at Saint Francis as a freshman.
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Following final exams, Lehigh will play its final nonleague game on Thursday, Dec. 22 when it hosts Cabrini at 7 p.m. The Mountain Hawks open Patriot League play on Dec. 30 at Army West Point.
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. - Following a strong 90-71 road win at Mount St. Mary's Saturday, the Lehigh men's basketball team returns home to wrap up nonleague play, beginning on Monday when it hosts Saint Francis (Pa.) at 7 p.m. The Mountain Hawks used a 17-0 run to pull away from the Mountaineers and earn their second road win of the season.
Â
Tickets for Monday's game are free with a Lehigh ID and as low as $5 for the general public. Lehigh students can take the Campus Connector bus to the game, with buses set to leave at 6:30 p.m. from Packer Ave. and Pi Beta Phi at 6:34, with buses running continually back from the Goodman Campus. 8:33, 8:53, 9:13, 9:33, etc. For the complete campus connector bus schedule, please click here.Â
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Lehigh led 38-33 at the half and then 49-44 five minutes into the second. That's when the Mountain Hawks went on their run, which began with four straight points from senior Austin Price, included six points from classmate Tim Kempton and ended with a three-pointer then fastbreak dunk from sophomore Matt Holba, giving Lehigh a 66-44 advantage with 9:23 on the second-half clock. Mount St. Mary's couldn't get any closer than 14 the rest of the way as the Mountain Hawks reached 90 points for the first time since scoring 103 against Army on Feb. 4, 2015.
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Kempton tied or set career highs in four separate categories. He set new highs in points (31) and free throws made (12) while tying his previous highs in rebounds (18) and blocks (3). Kempton had his fifth double-double of the season by halftime (10 points, 10 rebounds after 20 minutes). He scored 21 second-half points, the most points in a half by any Lehigh player since Kempton scored 23 in the first half at Holy Cross on Jan. 17, 2015. On Saturday, he finished 9-of-13 from the field and 12-of-13 from the free throw line. He was also critical in the Mountain Hawks' breaking Mount St. Mary's continued full-court press. The effort came in Kempton's 100th career game. After zero 30-point efforts in his first three seasons (91 games), he has three in his first nine games of his senior campaign. With his 31 points on Saturday, Kempton moved from ninth to eighth in school history and 21st to 17th in Patriot League history for career scoring, currently owning 1,597 points.
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Junior Kahron Ross added 16 points as he scored Lehigh's first six and was also a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line. It marked his sixth straight game with double-figure points. Price scored 13 points while Holba had nine points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field as Lehigh finished at 51 percent (28-of-55), the fifth time in the first nine games that the Mountain Hawks reached 50 percent. Sophomore Kyle Leufroy and freshman Pat Andree each added eight points as well.
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The Mountain Hawks finished with a dominant 43-23 edge in rebounds. The team's +20 margin marked its largest margin against a Division I opponent since outrebounding Navy by 24 (49-25) on Feb. 9, 2011. The win was Lehigh's 19th in its last 23 games against the Northeast Conference. The Mountain Hawks will face another NEC foe on Monday as they look to avenge last season's loss at Saint Francis (Pa.).
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Saint Francis stands 3-4 on the season, highlighted by a three-game winning streak which included a 69-62 win over American of the Patriot League. The Red Flash have lost two straight, most recently dropping a 73-70 final against Binghamton. Jamaal King leads the team in scoring (14.0 points per game) while Josh Nebo is right behind at 13.4 with 8.7 boards per contest, tied for the team lead. Keith Braxton also averages 8.7 rebounds to go with his 12.9 scoring average. In total, four different Red Flash average double-figure points. After Saint Francis' last game, the Red Flash stood 25th nationally in field goal percentage (.496) and sixth in three-point percentage (.432). Saint Francis is also top 100 nationally in rebounds per game (38.9). The team's 81.7 points per game stood 52nd in the nation.
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Saint Francis earned a 84-73 home win over Lehigh last season to snap a nine-game Mountain Hawks' winning streak and pull within 9-4 in the all-time series. Prior to last year, the previous Lehigh loss in the series came on Dec. 30, 1977 by an 87-71 final. The Mountain Hawks have beaten the Red Flash four straight times at home, last time pulling out a 61-59 win on Dec. 3, 2014 in Stabler Arena. Kempton posted his first-career double-double at Saint Francis as a freshman.
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Following final exams, Lehigh will play its final nonleague game on Thursday, Dec. 22 when it hosts Cabrini at 7 p.m. The Mountain Hawks open Patriot League play on Dec. 30 at Army West Point.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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| Date: | December 12, 2016 |
| Opponent: | Saint Francis (Pa.) Red Flash |
| Tip-off: | 7:00 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Stabler Arena/5,600 |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 4-5, 0-0 Patriot League  |
| Saint Francis' Record: | 3-4, 0-0 NEC |
| Series: | Lehigh leads, 9-4 |
| 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: | Patriot League Network |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | Saint Francis (Pa.) Official Website |
Players Mentioned
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