Wednesday, January 17
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
8-10, 3-4PL
72
vs
76
Colgate
9-9, 4-3PL
1
2
F
Colgate
50
26
76
Lehigh
32
40
72
Furious Lehigh comeback falls short vs. Colgate, 76-72
1/17/2018 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - After the Lehigh men's basketball team fell behind by 28 late in the first half, they came back to within two, but couldn't get over the hump as Colgate held on to defeat the Mountain Hawks, 76-72 on Wednesday evening in Stabler Arena. Wednesday's game was presented by Ricoh. Sophomore Pat Andree scored a game and season high 24 points to lead the offense as Lehigh hit 7-of-11 three-pointers in the second to give themselves a chance down the stretch. With the loss, the Mountain Hawks fall to 8-9, 3-4 in Patriot League play heading into a Saturday matchup at Army West Point.
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"I thought Colgate played very well tonight to establish themselves, and we kind of fell into a shell," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Instead of forcing the action and becoming the aggressors, we fell back and we let them be comfortable. Offensively, our decision making was poor during that stretch because we weren't moving the ball and weren't getting the opportunities that we ultimately needed."
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Along with Andree's 24, junior Lance Tejada scored 14 points while classmate Kyle Leufroy had 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Junior Jordan Cohen had seven points, six boards, four assists, a steal and block. Senior Kahron Ross added nine points and three assists.
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Colgate jumped out to an 11-2 lead, but the Mountain Hawks scored eight of the next 11 points to pull within 11-8 following an Andree three-pointer. However, from there, the Raiders answered in a big way, going on a 29-6 run as a Dana Batt layup gave Colgate a 40-14 lead with 6:37 left in the first.
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The Raiders eventually extended their lead to 50-22 with 2:05 remaining, but the Mountain Hawks ended the half on a 10-0 run, capped off by a steal then acrobatic three-point play from Cohen with nine seconds on the clock, pulling Lehigh within 50-32 at the half.
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"[At halftime], I certainly wasn't very happy and I wanted our team to make sure that they understood that," said Reed. "I felt like we were splintered and going in a lot of different directions and no way should it have gotten that bad. Ultimately, tonight, we ran out of time more than anything else, but that's partially because we dug ourselves such a deep hole. If we would've been able to weather the storm a little bit better in that first half, we could be looking at a different outcome in this game."
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Lehigh continued to pull closer in the second, getting within 54-40 with 16:10 on the clock. Colgate regained a 17-point lead, but a 13-2 Mountain Hawks' run capped off by a Ross trey, pulled Lehigh within single digits at 62-53 with 9:36 remaining in the stanza.
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With the Raiders holding a 72-62 lead with less than three minutes to go, the Mountain Hawks made one last surge, staging a 10-2 run which included an Andree three, Leufroy three-point play, Andree layup and Ross layup to pull Lehigh within 74-72 with 21 seconds remaining. However, Colgate's Sean O'Brien hit a pair of free throws with 10 seconds on the clock to wrap up the Raiders' 76-72 win.
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After shooting 34 percent in the first half, the Mountain Hawks shot 47 percent in the second to finish at 41 percent for the game (26-of-64). Lehigh knocked down 7-of-11 three-pointers in the second to help finish the game at 46 percent (10-of-22). Colgate shot 54 percent in the first half, but was held to just 35 percent in the second to finish the game at 46 percent (28-of-61). The Raiders connected on 42 percent of their treys (13-of-31).
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Lehigh hits the road on Saturday when it travels to Army to face the Black Knights. Opening tipoff is set for 2 p.m. The Mountain Hawks return home next Wednesday (Jan. 24) to host Loyola at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com 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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"I thought Colgate played very well tonight to establish themselves, and we kind of fell into a shell," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Instead of forcing the action and becoming the aggressors, we fell back and we let them be comfortable. Offensively, our decision making was poor during that stretch because we weren't moving the ball and weren't getting the opportunities that we ultimately needed."
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Along with Andree's 24, junior Lance Tejada scored 14 points while classmate Kyle Leufroy had 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Junior Jordan Cohen had seven points, six boards, four assists, a steal and block. Senior Kahron Ross added nine points and three assists.
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Colgate jumped out to an 11-2 lead, but the Mountain Hawks scored eight of the next 11 points to pull within 11-8 following an Andree three-pointer. However, from there, the Raiders answered in a big way, going on a 29-6 run as a Dana Batt layup gave Colgate a 40-14 lead with 6:37 left in the first.
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The Raiders eventually extended their lead to 50-22 with 2:05 remaining, but the Mountain Hawks ended the half on a 10-0 run, capped off by a steal then acrobatic three-point play from Cohen with nine seconds on the clock, pulling Lehigh within 50-32 at the half.
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"[At halftime], I certainly wasn't very happy and I wanted our team to make sure that they understood that," said Reed. "I felt like we were splintered and going in a lot of different directions and no way should it have gotten that bad. Ultimately, tonight, we ran out of time more than anything else, but that's partially because we dug ourselves such a deep hole. If we would've been able to weather the storm a little bit better in that first half, we could be looking at a different outcome in this game."
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Lehigh continued to pull closer in the second, getting within 54-40 with 16:10 on the clock. Colgate regained a 17-point lead, but a 13-2 Mountain Hawks' run capped off by a Ross trey, pulled Lehigh within single digits at 62-53 with 9:36 remaining in the stanza.
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With the Raiders holding a 72-62 lead with less than three minutes to go, the Mountain Hawks made one last surge, staging a 10-2 run which included an Andree three, Leufroy three-point play, Andree layup and Ross layup to pull Lehigh within 74-72 with 21 seconds remaining. However, Colgate's Sean O'Brien hit a pair of free throws with 10 seconds on the clock to wrap up the Raiders' 76-72 win.
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After shooting 34 percent in the first half, the Mountain Hawks shot 47 percent in the second to finish at 41 percent for the game (26-of-64). Lehigh knocked down 7-of-11 three-pointers in the second to help finish the game at 46 percent (10-of-22). Colgate shot 54 percent in the first half, but was held to just 35 percent in the second to finish the game at 46 percent (28-of-61). The Raiders connected on 42 percent of their treys (13-of-31).
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Lehigh hits the road on Saturday when it travels to Army to face the Black Knights. Opening tipoff is set for 2 p.m. The Mountain Hawks return home next Wednesday (Jan. 24) to host Loyola at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com 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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Team Stats
COLGATE
LEHIGH
FG%
.459
.406
3FG%
.419
.455
FT%
.875
1.000
RB
32
39
TO
11
13
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
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