Mountain Hawks prevail in overtime at Marist, 84-76

Saturday, November 11

Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Lehigh University

1-0

Marist

0-1

Team	1	2	OT 1	F
Lehigh	38	31	15	84
Marist	26	43	7	76

Mountain Hawks prevail in overtime at Marist, 84-76

11/11/2017 10:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Watch Postgame Interviews: Head Coach Brett Reed | Tejada

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Marist came back from a 38-26 halftime deficit to take multiple second-half leads, but junior Lance Tejada tied the score with two free throws in the final seconds and followed with six points in overtime to lead the Lehigh men's basketball team to a hard-fought 84-76 road win on Saturday evening. Tejada finished with a game and career-high 24 points in his Lehigh debut. It marked the Mountain Hawks' first season-opening victory since 2008 and first season opener to go to overtime since 1986.

"I'm pleased that we could win," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "I'm pleased that someone like Kyle Leufroy, despite having some struggles at different points in the game, could get a key stop for us, two key rebounds, and step up in those moments. I thought our first half was strong. Our defense was held tightly and we moved the ball on offense, but we fell into a bad pattern in the second half and it really proved costly for us. But instead of walking out of here with an L, we found enough grit and togetherness, and we made enough plays to get a win."

An East Carolina transfer, Tejada shot 9-of-20 from the field and 4-of-10 from three-point range while adding six rebounds, two steals and an assist.

"I'm really happy to have LT back in college basketball," said Reed. "It's tough for a guy who sits out for as long as he did and now he's wearing a Lehigh uniform and the lights are on. He's got a lot of emotions running through him. As a leader, as an upperclassmen and as someone who has college game experience, we're certainly asking more from him, too. This is a stepping stone and hopefully a great first step, but I certainly hope there's more to come. I'm glad he's in a Lehigh uniform."

Senior Kahron Ross scored 17 points, 12 in the second half to reach 990 career points while sophomore Pat Andree tallied 13 points and seven rebounds. Junior Kyle Leufroy filled up the stat sheet with nine points, a career-high tying nine rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Early on, Tejada broke a 5-5 tie with a layup, sparking an 11-2 run. The run was capped off by the first two of Tejada's four first-half three-pointers, the second giving the Mountain Hawks a 16-7 lead with 13:39 on the first-half clock.

A few minutes later, Lehigh went on a mini 5-0 surge capped off by a Jordan Cohen layup to give the Mountain Hawks a 21-9 advantage.

Later in the half, Marist used a 7-2 run of its own to pull within 28-21 with 4:05 left in the first. However, the Mountain Hawks quickly answered with consecutive three-pointers, from Ross and Tejada, to take a 34-21 lead less than a minute later. Sophomore Ed Porter scored Lehigh's final four points of the half before a Marist free throw with six seconds remaining pulled Marist within 38-26 after 20 minutes of play.

Marist opened the second half on a 10-0 run as a pair of three-pointers, from Ryan Funk and Kristinn Palsson, pulled the Red Foxes within 38-36, forcing a Lehigh timeout with 16:15 on the clock.

Lehigh used an 8-0 run, which included Ross' second consecutive three-point play and a three-pointer from the top of the key, to take a 54-44 advantage with 9:26 on the clock.

A few minutes later, the back-and-forth half continued as Marist reeled off an 8-0 run to pull even at 58 then later took its first lead at 62-61 with 3:41 on the clock. Late in regulation, Andree hit a huge corner three-pointer with one second remaining on the shot clock, evening the score at 64. On the next possession, Ross knocked down a trey to give Lehigh a 67-66 advantage with 58 seconds left in regulation.

Three Marist free throws gave the Red Foxes a 69-67 lead with 12 seconds remaining, but Tejada was fouled shooting a three-pointer and knocked down 2-of-3 from the free throw line with just five seconds remaining to force overtime.

Marist jumped out to an early overtime lead, but the Mountain Hawks answered with a 13-2 run to end the game. Included was a pair of Tejada baskets separated by 28 seconds, with a Tejada steal in between. The second gave Lehigh a 78-74 advantage with 2:47 on the clock. Lehigh sealed the win with a driving layup from freshman Caleb Bennett followed by four consecutive free throws, two each from Andree and Leufroy.

Lehigh shot 40 percent for the game (30-of-75), but shot 71 percent in overtime (5-of-7). Marist finished at 44 percent (24-of-55) from the field. The Mountain Hawks were 39 percent (12-of-31) from three-point range while the Red Foxes were 38 percent (9-of-24). Marist finished with a 41-40 edge in rebounds.

The Mountain Hawks will open their home schedule on Tuesday (Nov. 14) when they host Monmouth at 7 p.m. It marks the first of three straight home games as they also host Siena on Friday (Nov. 17) and Eastern University on Sunday (Nov. 19). Season and individual game tickets are on sale and can be purchased online by clicking here.

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