Saturday, November 25
Pittsburgh, Pa.
2 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Pittsburgh
Mountain Hawks continue road trip Saturday afternoon at Pitt
11/24/2017 11:16:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | Watch Live (ACC Network Extra/ESPN3) | Listen Live | Live Stats
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Following a Thanksgiving Eve loss at No. 10 USC, the Lehigh men's basketball continues its four-game road trip on Saturday when it plays at Pitt. Opening tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ESPN3). On Wednesday at USC, the Mountain Hawks made a late first-half surge to pull within 10 at halftime, but the Trojans began the second half on a 10-0 run to begin pulling away. On Saturday, Lehigh will be searching for its first win over an ACC opponent since it defeated Duke in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
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Since that Duke win, the Mountain Hawks have played three ACC games, falling at Pittsburgh in 2013-14, along with both Syracuse and Virginia in 2015-16 (The Mountain Hawks also played at Pitt in 2012-13, but that marked the Panthers' last season in the Big East). Lehigh has enjoyed success against power conference opponents, posting a 3-6 record since the beginning of 2014-15 (which marked current senior point guard Kahron Ross' freshman season). In that span, Ross and the Mountain Hawks have defeated opponents from the Big East (DePaul), SEC (Arizona State) and SEC (Mississippi State). Five of the losses were against ranked opponents with the Mountain Hawks playing tough - being down by no more than 10 at the half of any game and even taking second-half leads vs. Villanova in 2014-15 and Xavier in 2016-17. The sixth loss was to a Syracuse team that went on to make the Final Four in 2015-16. In that game, the Mountain Hawks began the second half on a 18-4 run to pull within six with 12:35 still remaining.
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Most recently, Lehigh played at a talented USC team Wednesday. The Trojans jumped out to a 33-15 lead just over 10 minutes into the game, but the Mountain Hawks outscored USC 19-11 the rest of the half to pull within 44-34 following 20 minutes of play. Ross was the story, especially early. He finished with a career-high tying 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting, with 20 of the points coming in the first half. Junior Lance Tejada wasn't far behind, recording 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Freshman James Karnik was strong, especially in the second half. He recorded seven points and a career-high nine rebounds, every point and all but two rebounds coming in the second half. The USC game marked a homecoming for a pair of Southern California natives: junior Kyle Leufroy (Pasadena) and sophomore Jordan Cohen (Tarzana).
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After scoring 342 points through four games (Lehigh's most since 1991-92), the Mountain Hawks scored a season low 68 points. Ross and Tejada shot a combined 17-of-30, but the rest of the team was just 8-of-40. As a team, Lehigh was just 25 percent from three-point range (7-of-28), compared to 46 percent for USC (12-of-26). The Mountain Hawks have continued to take care of the ball, turning the ball over just 10 times. Lehigh is averaging just 10.4 turnovers this season, turning the ball over 13 times or fewer in all five games thus far.
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Saturday will mark the third time in the last six seasons Lehigh will play at Pittsburgh. The Mountain Hawks fell at Pitt in consecutive seasons in 2012 (78-53) and 2013 (77-58). Ironically, Saturday will mark the third straight season Lehigh plays a power conference opponent on Nov. 25, which is Leufroy's birthday. Two years ago, the Mountain Hawks lost at Virginia while last year, they defeated Mississippi State.
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Pitt finished last season 16-17, but features nearly an entirely new team in 2017-18. So far this season, the Panthers are 1-4, which includes a season-opening defeat at Navy. Most recently, Pitt had a slim 73-67 defeat against Oklahoma State in the Legends Classic on Tuesday. Junior college transfer Jared Wilson-Frame leads the team in scoring (15.8 points per game). Meanwhile, Pitt's top returner in Ryan Luther is averaging 12.2 points and a team-leading 9.2 rebounds, seeing a big jump in playing time after averaging 5.7 points and 3.9 boards last season. Shamiel Stevenson is also averaging double figures (11.0) to go with 4.6 boards per game. Another returner, Jonathan Milligan, is averaging 6.6 points and 1.2 rebounds. Marcus Carr leads the team in assists with 20 through five games. Meanwhile, former Lafayette player Monty Boykins is playing a graduate year with the Panthers.
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The all-time series between Lehigh and Pitt is tied at five. Lehigh won the first three and five of the first seven meetings, all from 1912 to 1918. Since, Pitt has won the last three, in the 1919-20 season then again in 2012 and 2013.
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Next up, the Mountain Hawks travel to Princeton on Wednesday to face the Tigers. Opening tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on NBC Sports Philadelphia. The Mountain Hawks' next home game is Wednesday, Dec. 6 as they host Yale at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale 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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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Following a Thanksgiving Eve loss at No. 10 USC, the Lehigh men's basketball continues its four-game road trip on Saturday when it plays at Pitt. Opening tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ESPN3). On Wednesday at USC, the Mountain Hawks made a late first-half surge to pull within 10 at halftime, but the Trojans began the second half on a 10-0 run to begin pulling away. On Saturday, Lehigh will be searching for its first win over an ACC opponent since it defeated Duke in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
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Since that Duke win, the Mountain Hawks have played three ACC games, falling at Pittsburgh in 2013-14, along with both Syracuse and Virginia in 2015-16 (The Mountain Hawks also played at Pitt in 2012-13, but that marked the Panthers' last season in the Big East). Lehigh has enjoyed success against power conference opponents, posting a 3-6 record since the beginning of 2014-15 (which marked current senior point guard Kahron Ross' freshman season). In that span, Ross and the Mountain Hawks have defeated opponents from the Big East (DePaul), SEC (Arizona State) and SEC (Mississippi State). Five of the losses were against ranked opponents with the Mountain Hawks playing tough - being down by no more than 10 at the half of any game and even taking second-half leads vs. Villanova in 2014-15 and Xavier in 2016-17. The sixth loss was to a Syracuse team that went on to make the Final Four in 2015-16. In that game, the Mountain Hawks began the second half on a 18-4 run to pull within six with 12:35 still remaining.
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Most recently, Lehigh played at a talented USC team Wednesday. The Trojans jumped out to a 33-15 lead just over 10 minutes into the game, but the Mountain Hawks outscored USC 19-11 the rest of the half to pull within 44-34 following 20 minutes of play. Ross was the story, especially early. He finished with a career-high tying 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting, with 20 of the points coming in the first half. Junior Lance Tejada wasn't far behind, recording 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Freshman James Karnik was strong, especially in the second half. He recorded seven points and a career-high nine rebounds, every point and all but two rebounds coming in the second half. The USC game marked a homecoming for a pair of Southern California natives: junior Kyle Leufroy (Pasadena) and sophomore Jordan Cohen (Tarzana).
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After scoring 342 points through four games (Lehigh's most since 1991-92), the Mountain Hawks scored a season low 68 points. Ross and Tejada shot a combined 17-of-30, but the rest of the team was just 8-of-40. As a team, Lehigh was just 25 percent from three-point range (7-of-28), compared to 46 percent for USC (12-of-26). The Mountain Hawks have continued to take care of the ball, turning the ball over just 10 times. Lehigh is averaging just 10.4 turnovers this season, turning the ball over 13 times or fewer in all five games thus far.
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Saturday will mark the third time in the last six seasons Lehigh will play at Pittsburgh. The Mountain Hawks fell at Pitt in consecutive seasons in 2012 (78-53) and 2013 (77-58). Ironically, Saturday will mark the third straight season Lehigh plays a power conference opponent on Nov. 25, which is Leufroy's birthday. Two years ago, the Mountain Hawks lost at Virginia while last year, they defeated Mississippi State.
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Pitt finished last season 16-17, but features nearly an entirely new team in 2017-18. So far this season, the Panthers are 1-4, which includes a season-opening defeat at Navy. Most recently, Pitt had a slim 73-67 defeat against Oklahoma State in the Legends Classic on Tuesday. Junior college transfer Jared Wilson-Frame leads the team in scoring (15.8 points per game). Meanwhile, Pitt's top returner in Ryan Luther is averaging 12.2 points and a team-leading 9.2 rebounds, seeing a big jump in playing time after averaging 5.7 points and 3.9 boards last season. Shamiel Stevenson is also averaging double figures (11.0) to go with 4.6 boards per game. Another returner, Jonathan Milligan, is averaging 6.6 points and 1.2 rebounds. Marcus Carr leads the team in assists with 20 through five games. Meanwhile, former Lafayette player Monty Boykins is playing a graduate year with the Panthers.
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The all-time series between Lehigh and Pitt is tied at five. Lehigh won the first three and five of the first seven meetings, all from 1912 to 1918. Since, Pitt has won the last three, in the 1919-20 season then again in 2012 and 2013.
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Next up, the Mountain Hawks travel to Princeton on Wednesday to face the Tigers. Opening tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on NBC Sports Philadelphia. The Mountain Hawks' next home game is Wednesday, Dec. 6 as they host Yale at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale 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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