Friday, January 5
Bethlehem, Pa.
6 p.m.
Lehigh University
7-7, 2-1PL
83
vs
77
Holy Cross
3-11, 0-3PL
1
2
F
Holy Cross
40
37
77
Lehigh
45
38
83
Mountain Hawks shoot their way to 83-77 home win against Holy Cross
1/5/2018 9:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Despite trailing 19-3 early in the first half, the Lehigh men's basketball team responded in a big way, scoring 42 points over the final 12:55 of the first half, on its way to an 83-77 win over Holy Cross on Friday evening in Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks finished the evening 15-of-26 from three-point range to tie a Stabler Arena record for made threes (either Lehigh or opponent). Junior Lance Tejada returned from injury and scored a game-high 25 points, which included 6-of-8 from long distance. Lehigh improves to 7-7 on the season, 2-1 in Patriot League play. Following Friday's action, the Mountain Hawks are one of seven teams in the league tied for first place with a 2-1 league mark.
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"I was disappointed in the way in which we started the game," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Even our cuts were very slow. We got pushed into a corner and we came back with pretty strong fight. I was pleased our bench could give us very good minutes to give us a spark, led by LT (Lance Tejada). Then, it's really cool that some of the guys who were sitting for a while, like Kyle (Leufroy), could come back in and produce as well. Instead of worrying about himself, he gave us a hard charge. That's a sign of unity and maturity, which I'm really proud to see."
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In the end, five Mountain Hawks scored double-figure points for the second time in the last three games, and second consecutive Friday. Sophomore Pat Andree finished with 17 points and seven boards, shooting 5-of-9 from long range. Senior Kahron Ross had 12 points, junior Kyle Leufroy scored 11 with six rebounds while sophomore Jordan Cohen had 10 points and seven boards. As a team, Lehigh assisted on 20 of its 29 made field goals, led by a career-high from Tejada. Seven different Mountain Hawks had at least one assist.
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Holy Cross controlled the early stages of the game, opening a 12-0 lead before a Tejada trey with 15:25 left in the first half. The Crusaders eventually took a 19-3 advantage with 12:55 on the first-half clock. An Andree layup off a feed from freshman Caleb Bennett pulled Lehigh within 19-5, sparking a 12-0 run capped off by a Ross fastbreak layup, pulling the Mountain Hawks within 19-15 with 10:10 on the clock.
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The Crusaders reopened a nine-point lead at 29-20, then 32-23, but the Mountain Hawks answered with a 10-0 run capped off by a pair of Cohen layups in the span of 16 seconds, giving Lehigh its first lead at 33-32 and forcing a Holy Cross timeout.
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Holy Cross took a 38-36 advantage with 2:40 on the clock, but the Mountain Hawks ended the stanza on a 9-2 run as a Tejada trey in the final seconds gave Lehigh a 45-40 halftime lead.
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The second half saw Lehigh quickly open a double-figure lead following a Tejada three with 16:46 on the clock, giving the Mountain Hawks a 55-45 advantage. Holy Cross scored the next four, but the Mountain Hawks answered by staging a 12-2 run capped off by another Tejada trey to give Lehigh a 67-51 lead with 11:27 remaining.
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Holy Cross responded by scoring 15 of the next 17 points to pull within three at 69-66 with 5:09 remaining. The Mountain Hawks would answer with five consecutive points via a Leufroy layup and Tejada three, giving Lehigh a 76-68 lead with 2:55 left. Holy Cross pulled as close as two in the final minute, but Lehigh hit enough free throws down the stretch to wrap up the 83-77 victory.
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"Leading by 16, I thought maybe we had a chance to continue to squeeze the life out of them, but give Holy Cross credit," said Reed. "They worked the entire possession and made some very late-clock, contested three-point shots which allowed them to get back into it. Then, we had an inability to make some finishes during that stretch. If we make some of those finishes, maybe the run doesn't change as quickly. If we make some of those free throws, maybe we're not worried as much about end-of-game situations."
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For the game, Lehigh shot 53 percent from the field (29-of-55), including 58 percent from three-point range (15-of-26). Holy Cross finished at 50 percent (32-of-64) and 44 percent from long distance (12-of-27). The Mountain Hawks held a 36-27 edge in rebounds.
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The Mountain Hawks hit the road next week as they play at Boston University Monday night. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. After a road matchup at Bucknell on Thursday, Lehigh returns home on Sunday, Jan. 14 to host American at 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased online by clicking here.Â
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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 was disappointed in the way in which we started the game," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Even our cuts were very slow. We got pushed into a corner and we came back with pretty strong fight. I was pleased our bench could give us very good minutes to give us a spark, led by LT (Lance Tejada). Then, it's really cool that some of the guys who were sitting for a while, like Kyle (Leufroy), could come back in and produce as well. Instead of worrying about himself, he gave us a hard charge. That's a sign of unity and maturity, which I'm really proud to see."
Â
In the end, five Mountain Hawks scored double-figure points for the second time in the last three games, and second consecutive Friday. Sophomore Pat Andree finished with 17 points and seven boards, shooting 5-of-9 from long range. Senior Kahron Ross had 12 points, junior Kyle Leufroy scored 11 with six rebounds while sophomore Jordan Cohen had 10 points and seven boards. As a team, Lehigh assisted on 20 of its 29 made field goals, led by a career-high from Tejada. Seven different Mountain Hawks had at least one assist.
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Holy Cross controlled the early stages of the game, opening a 12-0 lead before a Tejada trey with 15:25 left in the first half. The Crusaders eventually took a 19-3 advantage with 12:55 on the first-half clock. An Andree layup off a feed from freshman Caleb Bennett pulled Lehigh within 19-5, sparking a 12-0 run capped off by a Ross fastbreak layup, pulling the Mountain Hawks within 19-15 with 10:10 on the clock.
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The Crusaders reopened a nine-point lead at 29-20, then 32-23, but the Mountain Hawks answered with a 10-0 run capped off by a pair of Cohen layups in the span of 16 seconds, giving Lehigh its first lead at 33-32 and forcing a Holy Cross timeout.
Â
Holy Cross took a 38-36 advantage with 2:40 on the clock, but the Mountain Hawks ended the stanza on a 9-2 run as a Tejada trey in the final seconds gave Lehigh a 45-40 halftime lead.
Â
The second half saw Lehigh quickly open a double-figure lead following a Tejada three with 16:46 on the clock, giving the Mountain Hawks a 55-45 advantage. Holy Cross scored the next four, but the Mountain Hawks answered by staging a 12-2 run capped off by another Tejada trey to give Lehigh a 67-51 lead with 11:27 remaining.
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Holy Cross responded by scoring 15 of the next 17 points to pull within three at 69-66 with 5:09 remaining. The Mountain Hawks would answer with five consecutive points via a Leufroy layup and Tejada three, giving Lehigh a 76-68 lead with 2:55 left. Holy Cross pulled as close as two in the final minute, but Lehigh hit enough free throws down the stretch to wrap up the 83-77 victory.
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"Leading by 16, I thought maybe we had a chance to continue to squeeze the life out of them, but give Holy Cross credit," said Reed. "They worked the entire possession and made some very late-clock, contested three-point shots which allowed them to get back into it. Then, we had an inability to make some finishes during that stretch. If we make some of those finishes, maybe the run doesn't change as quickly. If we make some of those free throws, maybe we're not worried as much about end-of-game situations."
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For the game, Lehigh shot 53 percent from the field (29-of-55), including 58 percent from three-point range (15-of-26). Holy Cross finished at 50 percent (32-of-64) and 44 percent from long distance (12-of-27). The Mountain Hawks held a 36-27 edge in rebounds.
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The Mountain Hawks hit the road next week as they play at Boston University Monday night. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. After a road matchup at Bucknell on Thursday, Lehigh returns home on Sunday, Jan. 14 to host American at 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased online by clicking here.Â
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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
HC
LEHIGH
FG%
.500
.527
3FG%
.444
.577
FT%
.333
.667
RB
27
36
TO
10
18
STL
10
7
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
8
3FGM
6
FTM
3
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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