Saturday, November 24
Manhattan, Kan.
4:30 p.m. (ET)
Lehigh University
at
Kansas State
Lehigh set to face No. 12 Kansas State on Saturday
11/23/2018 1:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Riding a three-game winning streak and wins in 12 of its last 14 games overall dating back to last season, the Lehigh men's basketball team will hit the road on Saturday for perhaps its toughest test of the season as the Mountain Hawks face No. 12 Kansas State at 4:30 p.m. ET (3:30 locally) on Fox Sports Kansas City, the Fox Sports App and ESPN3. The Wildcats are Lehigh's second power-conference (and reigning NCAA Tournament) team on its schedule. The Mountain Hawks' lone loss of the season, and only regular season defeat since last Jan. 27, came at Miami on Nov. 9 in a game Lehigh pulled as close as six in the second half before the Hurricanes pulled away.
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Along with being able to watch via ESPN3, fans can catch Saturday's game at Fox Sports Kansas City which can be found at DirecTV 671-5 [HD] / Dish 453 or 412-41 / AT&T U-Verse 750 or 1750 [HD].
Two of Lehigh's three power-conference opponent this season reign from the Big 12; the other is West Virginia, which the Mountain Hawks play on Dec. 30. Lehigh's last Big 12 opponent came on Nov. 9, 2012 at Baylor, a 99-77 defeat.
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Most recently, Lehigh improved to 3-0 against the MAAC in 2018-19 with an 80-69 victory at Siena Wednesday, spoiling the Saints' home opener. Siena actually jumped out to early leads of 12-5 and 16-10, but a 10-0 Lehigh run gave it a 20-16 advantage. The Saint responded to go up 27-22, but the Mountain Hawks took a 34-32 lead on a Jeameril Wilson three-pointer, and wouldn't trail again, despite Siena often getting within striking distance.
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Senior Kyle Leufroy paced the offense with a career-high 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting. In the process, he moved from 33rd all the way to 30th in school history in career scoring (currently 1,071 points). No other Mountain Hawks had double-figure shot attempts Wednesday as Lehigh was efficient all evening. One game after posting its best field goal percentage defense against a Division I opponent in 10 years, Lehigh's 58.0 shooting percentage vs. the Saints (29-of-50) was its best mark since shooting 59.2 percent on Feb. 4, 2017 at American. The Mountain Hawks' 63.2 percentage from three (12-of-19) was tied for the second best percentage in the NCAA this season and was Lehigh's best percentage since knocking down 66.7 percent (6-of-9) vs. Quinnipiac on Dec. 21, 2013. It was also the Mountain Hawks' best percentage with double-figure makes since hitting 73.3 percent (11-of-15) on Dec. 5, 2007 vs. Stony Brook. The last time Lehigh eclipsed 50 percent from the field, and from three, both came last Feb. 14 at Colgate when it shot 56.4 percent (31-of-55) and 52.9 percent (9-of-17), respectively.
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Along with Leufroy's 25 points, junior Jordan Cohen had 15 (on 5-of-8 shooting), sophomore Marques Wilson scored a season-high 12 (5-of-6) and Jeameril Wilson had a career-high 10 (4-of-6). Junior Pat Andree contributed eight (all in the second half), despite foul trouble while sophomore James Karnik was strong with six points and eight boards. Eight of the nine Mountain Hawks who played had at least one assist. Lehigh shot 68.0 percent in the first half (17-of-25) and 48.0 percent in the second (12-of-25) for the final 58.0 percentage. After allowing Siena to shoot 46.7 percent in the first (14-of-30), the Mountain Hawks held them to 35.3 percent in the second (12-of-34) to finish the game at 40.6 percent. The Saints also shot just 26.7 percent from three (8-of-30) and over its last two games, Lehigh has held its opponents to just 19.4 percent from three-point range (12-of-62).
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Lehigh improved to 4-1 on the season for the first time since 2008-09, when it started 5-1. Lehigh's only-ever win against a current Big 12 institution came in 1962-63, a 59-57 win against West Virginia. Lehigh has never beaten a member of the Big 12 since the conference was founded in 1994. The last time the Mountain Hawks beat a power-conference foe came on Nov. 25, 2016 at Mississippi State (87-73) while their last win over a nationally-ranked opponent came in the 2012 NCAA Tournament vs. Duke (75-70). Saturday will be a homecoming game for sophomore Caleb Bennett, who lives just over two hours away from Kansas State's Manhattan campus in St. Joseph, Mo. Classmate Marques Wilson lives in Edmond, Okla., which is just over a four-hour drive from Manhattan.
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Kansas State advanced to the Elite Eight last season, beating Creighton, UMBC and Kentucky before falling to Loyola Chicago. This season, the Wildcats came in second in the preseason Big 12 poll, picking up two first-place votes and only trailing Kansas. Most recently, Kansas State won the Paradise Jam Championship with an 82-67 win over Missouri. So far, Dean Wade leads the team in scoring (15.8) and rebounding (8.4) while two others are averaging double-figure points as well - Barry Brown (15.6) and Xavier Sneed (13.0). Kansas State's other wins have come against Kennesaw State, Denver, Eastern Kentucky and Penn.
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After Saturday's game, Lehigh returns to action in seven days when it hosts Arkansas State on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available and can be purchased online 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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Along with being able to watch via ESPN3, fans can catch Saturday's game at Fox Sports Kansas City which can be found at DirecTV 671-5 [HD] / Dish 453 or 412-41 / AT&T U-Verse 750 or 1750 [HD].
Two of Lehigh's three power-conference opponent this season reign from the Big 12; the other is West Virginia, which the Mountain Hawks play on Dec. 30. Lehigh's last Big 12 opponent came on Nov. 9, 2012 at Baylor, a 99-77 defeat.
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Most recently, Lehigh improved to 3-0 against the MAAC in 2018-19 with an 80-69 victory at Siena Wednesday, spoiling the Saints' home opener. Siena actually jumped out to early leads of 12-5 and 16-10, but a 10-0 Lehigh run gave it a 20-16 advantage. The Saint responded to go up 27-22, but the Mountain Hawks took a 34-32 lead on a Jeameril Wilson three-pointer, and wouldn't trail again, despite Siena often getting within striking distance.
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Senior Kyle Leufroy paced the offense with a career-high 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting. In the process, he moved from 33rd all the way to 30th in school history in career scoring (currently 1,071 points). No other Mountain Hawks had double-figure shot attempts Wednesday as Lehigh was efficient all evening. One game after posting its best field goal percentage defense against a Division I opponent in 10 years, Lehigh's 58.0 shooting percentage vs. the Saints (29-of-50) was its best mark since shooting 59.2 percent on Feb. 4, 2017 at American. The Mountain Hawks' 63.2 percentage from three (12-of-19) was tied for the second best percentage in the NCAA this season and was Lehigh's best percentage since knocking down 66.7 percent (6-of-9) vs. Quinnipiac on Dec. 21, 2013. It was also the Mountain Hawks' best percentage with double-figure makes since hitting 73.3 percent (11-of-15) on Dec. 5, 2007 vs. Stony Brook. The last time Lehigh eclipsed 50 percent from the field, and from three, both came last Feb. 14 at Colgate when it shot 56.4 percent (31-of-55) and 52.9 percent (9-of-17), respectively.
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Along with Leufroy's 25 points, junior Jordan Cohen had 15 (on 5-of-8 shooting), sophomore Marques Wilson scored a season-high 12 (5-of-6) and Jeameril Wilson had a career-high 10 (4-of-6). Junior Pat Andree contributed eight (all in the second half), despite foul trouble while sophomore James Karnik was strong with six points and eight boards. Eight of the nine Mountain Hawks who played had at least one assist. Lehigh shot 68.0 percent in the first half (17-of-25) and 48.0 percent in the second (12-of-25) for the final 58.0 percentage. After allowing Siena to shoot 46.7 percent in the first (14-of-30), the Mountain Hawks held them to 35.3 percent in the second (12-of-34) to finish the game at 40.6 percent. The Saints also shot just 26.7 percent from three (8-of-30) and over its last two games, Lehigh has held its opponents to just 19.4 percent from three-point range (12-of-62).
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Lehigh improved to 4-1 on the season for the first time since 2008-09, when it started 5-1. Lehigh's only-ever win against a current Big 12 institution came in 1962-63, a 59-57 win against West Virginia. Lehigh has never beaten a member of the Big 12 since the conference was founded in 1994. The last time the Mountain Hawks beat a power-conference foe came on Nov. 25, 2016 at Mississippi State (87-73) while their last win over a nationally-ranked opponent came in the 2012 NCAA Tournament vs. Duke (75-70). Saturday will be a homecoming game for sophomore Caleb Bennett, who lives just over two hours away from Kansas State's Manhattan campus in St. Joseph, Mo. Classmate Marques Wilson lives in Edmond, Okla., which is just over a four-hour drive from Manhattan.
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Kansas State advanced to the Elite Eight last season, beating Creighton, UMBC and Kentucky before falling to Loyola Chicago. This season, the Wildcats came in second in the preseason Big 12 poll, picking up two first-place votes and only trailing Kansas. Most recently, Kansas State won the Paradise Jam Championship with an 82-67 win over Missouri. So far, Dean Wade leads the team in scoring (15.8) and rebounding (8.4) while two others are averaging double-figure points as well - Barry Brown (15.6) and Xavier Sneed (13.0). Kansas State's other wins have come against Kennesaw State, Denver, Eastern Kentucky and Penn.
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After Saturday's game, Lehigh returns to action in seven days when it hosts Arkansas State on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available and can be purchased online 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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| Date: | November 24, 2018 |
| Opponent: | Kansas State Wildcats |
| Tip-off: | 4:30 PM (ET) (3:30 locally) |
| Arena/Capacity: | Bramlage Coliseum/12,528 |
| Location: | Manhattan, Kan. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 4-1, 0-0 Patriot League  |
| Kansas State's Record: | 5-0, 0-0 MAAC |
| Series: | First Meeting |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 4 p.m. (ET) |
| Television: | Fox Sports Kansas City |
| Internet Video: | Fox Sports App & ESPN3 |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | Kansas State Official Website |
Players Mentioned
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