Monday, February 8
Easton, Pa.
7:00 pm
Lehigh University
9-14, 7-5
87
at
72
Lafayette
5-18, 2-10
1
2
F
Lehigh
40
47
87
Lafayette
42
30
72
Lehigh pulls away from archrival Lafayette for third straight win, 87-72
2/8/2016 10:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EASTON, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team shot a season-high 57 percent from the field and the defense held Lafayette scoreless for 5:21 down the stretch as the Mountain Hawks defeated the Leopards, 87-72 on Monday evening. The win marked Lehigh's third straight as the Mountain Hawks move into a tie for second place in the league standings with a showdown at first-place Bucknell Wednesday night. Junior Tim Kempton paced the offense with 22 points and 13 rebounds for his 26th-career double-double while senior Jesse Chuku added 18 points, five rebounds and two blocks to reach 100 for his career.
Lafayette hit two free throws with 5:48 on the clock to pull within 77-70, but wouldn't score again until 27 seconds remaining as Lehigh's defense stepped up in crunch time to improve to 7-5 in Patriot League play.
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"That five-minute stretch was so, so important for us," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Lafayette was playing very good basketball and they made well-contested shots, step back shots. They were making a lot of great plays. There were times when our defense was a little bit porous. Shortly before that point, Lafayette was up to about 67 percent in the second half after shooting 60 percent in the first half. I was waiting for our team to string together a couple stops. With as efficient as we were on offense, as soon as Lafayette had those empty possessions, we were able to create separation."
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Kempton shot 9-of-10 from the field while Chuku was 7-of-10, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. Sophomore Kahron Ross impressed with 16 points, eight assists, a block and two steals while junior Austin Price added 15 points and a career-high seven assists. Freshman Kyle Leufroy scored nine points on 3-of-5 from three-point range.
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"I thought Tim brought a solid rebounding presence and some intensity," said Reed. "Tyler Jenkins was an unsung hero, coming in off the bench and providing some defensive intensity as well."
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Chuku scored Lehigh's first eight points as his second three-pointer gave the Mountain Hawks an 8-5 advantage with 18:20 on the first-half clock. A Leufroy trey less than a minute later gave Lehigh an 11-7 lead, but the Leopards responded with a 13-2 run. After a Chuku dunk off an assist from Ross, a pair of Leopard three-pointers and a driving layup forced Reed to call timeout down 20-13 with 11:44 on the clock.
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The teams went back-and-forth over the ensuing minutes as Lehigh pulled within two before Lafayette regained its seven-point lead, 29-22, with 7:49 left in the first half.
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The Mountain Hawks immediately answered with six straight points, but the Leopards scored the next five to take a 36-30 lead with 5:26 on the clock.
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The back-and-forth half continued as Lehigh scored the next six points behind a Chuku tip-in, Price floater and Price layup, making the score 36-36 with 4:07 remaining in the first. Lafayette scored six of the final 10 first-half points to take a 42-40 lead after 20 minutes of play.
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Both teams were on fire from the field in the first half as Lafayette shot 60 percent (18-of-30) to Lehigh's 59 percent (17-of-29). Both teams were 50 percent (5-of-10) from three-point range. Chuku had 12 first-half points on 5-of-7 shooting while Kempton had 11 points and nine boards in the first 20 minutes.
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Lafayette scored the first points of the second half, but the Mountain Hawks responded with four straight points as a Kempton layup evened the score at 44 just over one minute into the half.
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Trailing 48-44, Kempton went on a 7-0 run by himself as a three-point play followed by offensive rebound and put back gave the Mountain Hawks a 51-44 advantage with 16:11 remaining.
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The teams traded three-pointers over the ensuing minutes until Lehigh began to create separation. Down one, Leufroy knocked down his second trey in less than a minute, giving the Mountain Hawks a 59-57 lead. Chuku and Ross followed with threes to give Lehigh a 65-57 advantage with 12:48 on the clock.
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Lafayette pulled within five, but the Mountain Hawks' lead swelled to nine following a Price trey with 9:22 remaining. The Leopards again pulled within five, but Lehigh's lead reached double figures following a Chuku three which gave the Mountain Hawks an 80-70 advantage with 5:30 on the clock. Moments prior, Chuku had two blocks in less than a minute's time, giving him 100 blocks for his career and giving his squad plenty of momentum.
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From there, Lehigh's defense stepped up, not allowing another point until the final seconds, and the offense built a 17-point lead following a Jenkins trey with 1:02 remaining, as the Mountain Hawks ended the game on a 14-4 run.
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For the game, Lehigh shot 57 percent from the field (32-of-56) and 50 percent from three-point range (12-of-24). Lafayette shot 54 percent (28-of-52) and 46 percent from long distance (10-of-22). The Mountain Hawks held a 30-21 edge in rebounds.
Lehigh wraps up its three games in five days at Bucknell on Wednesday. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be nationally-televised on American Sports Network.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
LAFAYETT
FG%
.571
.538
3FG%
.500
.455
FT%
.688
.857
RB
30
21
TO
14
19
STL
9
8
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballC/F
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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