Saturday, February 4
Washington, D.C.
1 PM
Lehigh University
at
American
Lehigh heads to our nation’s capital for Saturday matinee at American
2/3/2017 2:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | Watch Live (Free) | Listen Live | Live Stats
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team will look to get back on track this Saturday when it heads to our nation's capital to face American. Opening tipoff is set for 1 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic and the Patriot League Network. The Mountain Hawks lost two games in three days earlier this week, dropping a home contest to Boston University and road tilt at Loyola.
Most recently, Lehigh fell to Loyola for the third time in the last four tries, all decided in the final minute of action and all including a game-winning shot from the Greyhounds' Andre Walker. Most recently, Walker hit a shot with 27 seconds on the clock, which gave his side a 62-60 lead. Lehigh had two chances to pull even (or take a lead), but neither shot would fall.
The trio of junior Brandon Alston, sophomore Kyle Leufroy and freshman Jordan Cohen led the offense, scoring 45 of the Mountain Hawks' 60 points. Leufroy led the way with 17 points; nine came in the second half as he shot 4-of-5 from the field over the final 20 minutes. Cohen scored eight of Lehigh's first 12 points of the game, finishing with 14 points for his second straight game in double figures. Alston also chipped in 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Lehigh struggled from three-point range, hitting just 2-of-14 from long distance. The Mountain Hawks also battled foul trouble in their frontcourt as senior Tim Kempton fouled out in just 18 minutes while sophomore Matt Holba was whistled for four fouls. Kempton finished the game with a season-low four points, to go with seven rebounds. Lehigh turned the ball over 13 times while forcing 18 Loyola turnovers, which helped keep the Mountain Hawks in the game. Wednesday marked Lehigh's first loss of the season when committing fewer turnovers than their opponent.
The Mountain Hawks used a 12-1 surge early in the second half to take a 10-point lead, but Loyola immediately responded with a 7-0 run to get right back in the game, leading to a back-and-forth final few minutes.
The Mountain Hawks are currently tied for fourth place in the league standings (6-5) with Loyola and Holy Cross. Following Saturday's game, Lehigh plays just two of its final seven regular season games on the road.
American is 5-17 overall, 2-9 in Patriot League play entering Saturday's game, with a number of close defeats. Out of the Eagles' league defeats, five have come by single digits. American's wins have come at Colgate and vs. Lafayette, but have since lost four straight - at Holy Cross, vs. Navy, vs. Colgate and at Bucknell. Freshman Sa'eed Nelson leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.0 points per game while last season's Patriot League Rookie of the Year Delante Jones averages 11.9 points and freshman center Mark Gasperini comes in at 11.5. Charlies Jones leads the team in rebounding (5.4) and owns a team-leading 58 assists through 22 games.
Lehigh has enjoyed success as of late against American, winning four straight, five of the last six and eight of the last 12 to pull within 26-23 in the all-time series. The last three games have come at Lehigh, with the Mountain Hawks winning 72-49, 78-62 (in the Patriot League Semifinals) and 79-73 (earlier this year). The last time Lehigh played at American, the Mountain Hawks pulled out a wire-to-wire 65-50 win. The two sides have played multiple times in the Patriot League Tournament, including in each of the team's three Patriot League Championship Campaigns (2004, 2010 and 2012). Lehigh and American first played in 1960-61, a 71-61 American victory. Lehigh then won the next meeting in 1964-65, 63-47.
The Mountain Hawks return home on Wednesday (Feb. 8) when they host Bucknell at 7 p.m.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team will look to get back on track this Saturday when it heads to our nation's capital to face American. Opening tipoff is set for 1 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic and the Patriot League Network. The Mountain Hawks lost two games in three days earlier this week, dropping a home contest to Boston University and road tilt at Loyola.
Most recently, Lehigh fell to Loyola for the third time in the last four tries, all decided in the final minute of action and all including a game-winning shot from the Greyhounds' Andre Walker. Most recently, Walker hit a shot with 27 seconds on the clock, which gave his side a 62-60 lead. Lehigh had two chances to pull even (or take a lead), but neither shot would fall.
The trio of junior Brandon Alston, sophomore Kyle Leufroy and freshman Jordan Cohen led the offense, scoring 45 of the Mountain Hawks' 60 points. Leufroy led the way with 17 points; nine came in the second half as he shot 4-of-5 from the field over the final 20 minutes. Cohen scored eight of Lehigh's first 12 points of the game, finishing with 14 points for his second straight game in double figures. Alston also chipped in 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Lehigh struggled from three-point range, hitting just 2-of-14 from long distance. The Mountain Hawks also battled foul trouble in their frontcourt as senior Tim Kempton fouled out in just 18 minutes while sophomore Matt Holba was whistled for four fouls. Kempton finished the game with a season-low four points, to go with seven rebounds. Lehigh turned the ball over 13 times while forcing 18 Loyola turnovers, which helped keep the Mountain Hawks in the game. Wednesday marked Lehigh's first loss of the season when committing fewer turnovers than their opponent.
The Mountain Hawks used a 12-1 surge early in the second half to take a 10-point lead, but Loyola immediately responded with a 7-0 run to get right back in the game, leading to a back-and-forth final few minutes.
The Mountain Hawks are currently tied for fourth place in the league standings (6-5) with Loyola and Holy Cross. Following Saturday's game, Lehigh plays just two of its final seven regular season games on the road.
American is 5-17 overall, 2-9 in Patriot League play entering Saturday's game, with a number of close defeats. Out of the Eagles' league defeats, five have come by single digits. American's wins have come at Colgate and vs. Lafayette, but have since lost four straight - at Holy Cross, vs. Navy, vs. Colgate and at Bucknell. Freshman Sa'eed Nelson leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.0 points per game while last season's Patriot League Rookie of the Year Delante Jones averages 11.9 points and freshman center Mark Gasperini comes in at 11.5. Charlies Jones leads the team in rebounding (5.4) and owns a team-leading 58 assists through 22 games.
Lehigh has enjoyed success as of late against American, winning four straight, five of the last six and eight of the last 12 to pull within 26-23 in the all-time series. The last three games have come at Lehigh, with the Mountain Hawks winning 72-49, 78-62 (in the Patriot League Semifinals) and 79-73 (earlier this year). The last time Lehigh played at American, the Mountain Hawks pulled out a wire-to-wire 65-50 win. The two sides have played multiple times in the Patriot League Tournament, including in each of the team's three Patriot League Championship Campaigns (2004, 2010 and 2012). Lehigh and American first played in 1960-61, a 71-61 American victory. Lehigh then won the next meeting in 1964-65, 63-47.
The Mountain Hawks return home on Wednesday (Feb. 8) when they host Bucknell at 7 p.m.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
| Date: | February 4, 2017 |
| Opponent: | American Eagles |
| Tip-off: | 1:00 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Bender Arena/4,500 |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 12-10, 6-5 Patriot League |
| American's Record: | 5-17, 2-9 Patriot League |
| Series: | American leads, 26-23 |
| Radio: | ESPN Radio 1160/1230/1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 12:30 PM. |
| Television: | Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic |
| Internet Video: | Patriot League Network |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | American Official Website |
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