Wednesday, February 1
Baltimore, Md.
7:30 PM
Lehigh University
12-9, 6-5PL
60
at
62
Loyola
12-10, 6-5PL
1
2
F
Lehigh
30
30
60
Loyola Maryland
29
33
62
Mountain Hawks fall at Loyola in final minute, 62-60
2/1/2017 10:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BALTIMORE - The Lehigh men's basketball team used a 12-1 second-half run to take a 10-point lead, but Loyola got back into the game with a 7-0 run and eventually scored what proved to be the game-winner in the final minute as the Mountain Hawks (12-10, 6-5 Patriot League) dropped another tough game to the Greyhounds, 62-60 on Wednesday evening. Wednesday marked the third straight game Lehigh has lost to Loyola in the final minute. Sophomore Kyle Leufroy scored a team-high 17 points while freshman Jordan Cohen was a big spark, scoring eight of Lehigh's first 12 points and finishing with 14.
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"Loyola made the plays down at the end and we didn't," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We were a little bit out of sync because of the foul difficulty and having to play with different lineups, but nonetheless, we put ourselves in a position to build a lead with a little bit of toughness and defensive energy. I'm proud of that. We forced turnovers and were disruptive. But unfortunately, we had breakdowns on the offensive glass, with offensive execution and we had severe foul difficulty."
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Leufroy finished 6-of-9 from the field while Cohen was 5-of-10. Junior Brandon Alston also scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Senior Tim Kempton played just 18 minutes, fouling out with a season-low four points and seven rebounds.
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"I thought Jordan did a great job," said Reed. "He gave us an immediate boost. He gave us credibility with the ball. He was driving by people, he was making finishes and he was drawing fouls. He single-handedly did the best job on (Andre) Walker."
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Loyola opened a 6-2 lead following a Cam Gregory free throw, but the Mountain Hawks answered with five of the next seven points. A Cohen trey evened the score at 10, then he converted a layup to give the Mountain Hawks their first lead at 12-10 with 12:37 on the first-half clock.
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An Alston basket gave Lehigh a 14-10 lead, but Loyola went on a 9-2 run as a Matt Staubi trey gave the Greyhounds a 19-16 lead with 6:33 on the clock.
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The Mountain Hawks' lead swelled back to three following consecutive layups from senior Austin Price and junior Kahron Ross, the Greyhounds scored four straight points to take a lead, but a 6-0 Lehigh run late in the half helped the Mountain Hawks take a 30-29 advantage following 20 minutes of play.
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Loyola regained a lead early in the second half, but the Mountain Hawks used a 12-1 run, beginning with five straight points from Leufroy and ending with a Cohen layup, to give Lehigh a 44-34 lead with 14:40 remaining in the second half.
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The Greyhounds quickly used a 7-0 run to pull back within seven at 44-41, forcing a Lehigh timeout with 11:35 on the clock.
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An Andre Walker layup evened the score at 48 with 7:23 remaining, then neither team led by more than four over the rest of regulation. After Kempton fouled out, the Mountain Hawks immediately responded with four straight points as an Alston basket gave his squad a 55-51 lead. However, the Greyhounds fought back and a Gregory jumper, then layup, turned a 59-56 Lehigh lead into a 60-59 Loyola advantage with 1:10 on the clock.
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Ross evened the score with a free throw, but a Walker layup gave Loyola a 62-60 lead with 27 seconds remaining. Lehigh had two chances to pull closer, but Ross missed a jumper then later had a driving play to the basket with time running out, but his shot was off the mark.
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Lehigh shot 44.2 percent for the game (23-of-54), including just 14.3 percent from three-point range (2-of-14). Loyola finished at 47.2 percent (25-of-53) and 28.6 percent from long distance (4-of-14). The Greyhounds won the battle of the boards, 34-27.
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The Mountain Hawks remain on the road this Saturday when they play at American. Opening tipoff is set for 1 p.m. Lehigh will return home next Wednesday (Feb. 8) to host Bucknell at 7 p.m. Tickets are available online by clicking here.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
LOYOLA
FG%
.442
.472
3FG%
.143
.286
FT%
.750
.533
RB
27
34
TO
13
18
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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