Wednesday, February 8
Stabler Arena
7 PM
Lehigh University
vs
Bucknell
Mountain Hawks return home to host Bucknell Wednesday night
2/7/2017 4:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | Purchase Tickets | Watch Live (Free) | Listen Live | Live StatsÂ
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Following one of its best halves of the season at American Saturday, the Lehigh men's basketball team will look to continue the momentum on Wednesday when it hosts Bucknell at 7 p.m. presented by Come Ready Nutrition. Currently in a tie for fourth place, the Mountain Hawks will face the first-place Bison having given them their only Patriot League loss of the season to this point.
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Tickets for Wednesday's game are free with a Lehigh ID and as low as $5 for the general public. The Lehigh football team will be recognized at halftime for its Patriot League Championship this fall. Lehigh students can take the Campus Connector bus to the game, with buses set to leave at 6:30 p.m. from Packer Ave. and Pi Beta Phi at 6:34, with buses running continually back from the Goodman Campus. 8:33, 8:53, 9:13, 9:33, etc. For the complete campus connector bus schedule, please click here.Â
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Lehigh held a 30-26 halftime lead over American, then erased any doubt early in the second half. The Mountain Hawks scored 17 of the first 22 points to open a 47-31 lead following an Austin Price jumper. Lehigh's lead eventually reached 21 following a Tim Kempton jumper. The Mountain Hawks maintained a 20-point lead into the final two minutes before American pulled within 15 (70-55) at the final horn.
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Junior Kahron Ross led the way for Lehigh, scoring a game-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting while adding five assists, two rebounds and two steals. Kempton posted his 13th double-double of the season, recording 15 points and 12 rebounds. He had 10 points and seven rebounds over the game's first 13:13, passing Bob Krizansky to move into fourth place in school history for career points (currently 1,855). Price and sophomore Kyle Leufroy each scored eight points while freshman Jordan Cohen continued to play well, scoring seven points on 3-of-5 shooting. Junior Brandon Alston had six points and senior Devon Carter scored a season-high five points.
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For the game, Lehigh shot a season-high 59.2 percent from the field, including 71.4 percent on two-point field goals (25-of-35). The Mountain Hawks' 59.2 field goal percentage was their best mark since Dec. 1, 2012 when they shot 63.3 percent (38-of-60) in a 102-62 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. Lehigh has now shot 50 percent or better in 12-of-23 games so far. Lehigh has struggled from three-point range, however, hitting just 12-of-48 (25 percent) over its last three games. After turning the ball over 20 times last Monday against Boston University, Lehigh has done better over the last two, committing 13 both at Loyola and American. The Mountain Hawks have had 13 or fewer turnovers in seven of their last eight games.
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Lehigh's defense allowed fewer than 60 points for the third time in Patriot League play; the Mountain Hawks have allowed an average of just 58.5 points over their last two games. Lehigh is now up to third in the Patriot League in field goal percentage defense (.441) while it continues to lead the league in field goal percentage (.491).
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Wednesday's matchup features two of the perennially top teams in the Patriot League, highlighted by 2010-13 when each team won a pair of league titles.
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Bucknell stands in first place in the league standings at 19-6 overall, 11-1 in Patriot League play. Since the Mountain Hawks beat the Bison on Jan. 11, they have responded with seven straight wins, all coming by double-figure points. Four Bucknell players are averaging double figures, led by Zach Thomas and his 15.8 points per game. Nana Foulland averages 14.6 points and a team-leading 7.8 boards while Kimbal Mackenzie averages 11.4 points and Stephen Brown comes in at 10.3 points and a team-leading 4.8 assists per contest. Bucknell averages 75 points per game while allowing just 67.7 and is shooting 48.1 percent from the team, second in the Patriot League behind Lehigh's 49.1 percent.
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Lehigh has won seven of the last 11 matchups against Bucknell to pull within 101-66 in the all-time series. In this season's first meeting on Jan. 11, Lehigh pulled out an 82-71 win at Bucknell, the team's fifth win in its last seven tries at Sojka Pavilion. Heading into this year, the teams have split each of the last five regular season series. The last season sweep came by Bucknell in 2010-11. Lehigh's last season sweep was in 2007-08. Overall, 10 of the last 13 meetings have been decided by seven points or fewer. All three that have been greater than seven have been Lehigh victories. Bucknell is Lehigh's second-most played rival of all-time, only behind Lafayette.
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Following Wednesday's game, the Mountain Hawks will hit the road this weekend when they play at Holy Cross this Sunday at 12 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
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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 one of its best halves of the season at American Saturday, the Lehigh men's basketball team will look to continue the momentum on Wednesday when it hosts Bucknell at 7 p.m. presented by Come Ready Nutrition. Currently in a tie for fourth place, the Mountain Hawks will face the first-place Bison having given them their only Patriot League loss of the season to this point.
Â
Tickets for Wednesday's game are free with a Lehigh ID and as low as $5 for the general public. The Lehigh football team will be recognized at halftime for its Patriot League Championship this fall. Lehigh students can take the Campus Connector bus to the game, with buses set to leave at 6:30 p.m. from Packer Ave. and Pi Beta Phi at 6:34, with buses running continually back from the Goodman Campus. 8:33, 8:53, 9:13, 9:33, etc. For the complete campus connector bus schedule, please click here.Â
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Lehigh held a 30-26 halftime lead over American, then erased any doubt early in the second half. The Mountain Hawks scored 17 of the first 22 points to open a 47-31 lead following an Austin Price jumper. Lehigh's lead eventually reached 21 following a Tim Kempton jumper. The Mountain Hawks maintained a 20-point lead into the final two minutes before American pulled within 15 (70-55) at the final horn.
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Junior Kahron Ross led the way for Lehigh, scoring a game-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting while adding five assists, two rebounds and two steals. Kempton posted his 13th double-double of the season, recording 15 points and 12 rebounds. He had 10 points and seven rebounds over the game's first 13:13, passing Bob Krizansky to move into fourth place in school history for career points (currently 1,855). Price and sophomore Kyle Leufroy each scored eight points while freshman Jordan Cohen continued to play well, scoring seven points on 3-of-5 shooting. Junior Brandon Alston had six points and senior Devon Carter scored a season-high five points.
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For the game, Lehigh shot a season-high 59.2 percent from the field, including 71.4 percent on two-point field goals (25-of-35). The Mountain Hawks' 59.2 field goal percentage was their best mark since Dec. 1, 2012 when they shot 63.3 percent (38-of-60) in a 102-62 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. Lehigh has now shot 50 percent or better in 12-of-23 games so far. Lehigh has struggled from three-point range, however, hitting just 12-of-48 (25 percent) over its last three games. After turning the ball over 20 times last Monday against Boston University, Lehigh has done better over the last two, committing 13 both at Loyola and American. The Mountain Hawks have had 13 or fewer turnovers in seven of their last eight games.
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Lehigh's defense allowed fewer than 60 points for the third time in Patriot League play; the Mountain Hawks have allowed an average of just 58.5 points over their last two games. Lehigh is now up to third in the Patriot League in field goal percentage defense (.441) while it continues to lead the league in field goal percentage (.491).
Â
Wednesday's matchup features two of the perennially top teams in the Patriot League, highlighted by 2010-13 when each team won a pair of league titles.
Â
Bucknell stands in first place in the league standings at 19-6 overall, 11-1 in Patriot League play. Since the Mountain Hawks beat the Bison on Jan. 11, they have responded with seven straight wins, all coming by double-figure points. Four Bucknell players are averaging double figures, led by Zach Thomas and his 15.8 points per game. Nana Foulland averages 14.6 points and a team-leading 7.8 boards while Kimbal Mackenzie averages 11.4 points and Stephen Brown comes in at 10.3 points and a team-leading 4.8 assists per contest. Bucknell averages 75 points per game while allowing just 67.7 and is shooting 48.1 percent from the team, second in the Patriot League behind Lehigh's 49.1 percent.
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Lehigh has won seven of the last 11 matchups against Bucknell to pull within 101-66 in the all-time series. In this season's first meeting on Jan. 11, Lehigh pulled out an 82-71 win at Bucknell, the team's fifth win in its last seven tries at Sojka Pavilion. Heading into this year, the teams have split each of the last five regular season series. The last season sweep came by Bucknell in 2010-11. Lehigh's last season sweep was in 2007-08. Overall, 10 of the last 13 meetings have been decided by seven points or fewer. All three that have been greater than seven have been Lehigh victories. Bucknell is Lehigh's second-most played rival of all-time, only behind Lafayette.
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Following Wednesday's game, the Mountain Hawks will hit the road this weekend when they play at Holy Cross this Sunday at 12 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
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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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| Date: | February 8, 2017 |
| Opponent: | Bucknell Bison |
| Tip-off: | 7:00 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Stabler Arena/5,600 |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 13-10, 7-5 Patriot League  |
| Bucknell's Record: | 19-6, 11-1 Patriot League |
| Series: | Bucknell leads, 101-66 |
| Radio: | ESPN Radio 1160/1230/1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30 PM. |
| Television: | Service Electric Channel 50 |
| Internet Video: | Patriot League Network |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | Bucknell Official Website |
Players Mentioned
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