Saturday, November 24
Manhattan, Kan.
4:30 p.m. (ET)
Lehigh University
4-2
58
at
77
Kansas State
6-0
1
2
F
Lehigh
35
23
58
Kansas State
37
40
77
Photo by: Scott Weaver/K-State Athletics
No. 12 Kansas State pulls away in second half to thwart off Lehigh upset attempt
11/24/2018 7:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Lehigh men's basketball team found itself leading 31-26 late in the first half, but No. 12 Kansas State opened a 37-35 halftime advantage and pulled away in the second to beat the Mountain Hawks, 77-58 on Saturday afternoon. Lehigh continued to hang around for much of the second half, finding itself within 57-48 with 7:56 remaining and 64-52 with 4:30 on the clock, but the Wildcats scored 13 of the game's final 19 points to improve to 6-0 on the season. With the loss, Lehigh falls to 4-2 with both defeats coming against power-conference opponents.
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"Ultimately, our team went toe-to-toe with an excellent team, one of the best in the country," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Particularly in the first half, we were able to make shots and we competed on the defensive end of the floor. It wasn't until really a sloppy start of the second half that we had to call a timeout and slow things down. Kansas State ended up making a run during that time period."
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Sophomore James Karnik led the offense with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, to go with eight rebounds and two assists. Junior Pat Andree had 12 points, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, while classmate Jordan Cohen posted 11 points and a career-high eight assists, along with three steals. Fourteen of the Mountain Hawks' 22 field goals were assisted.
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"Tonight, James was able to stay in the rhythm," said Reed. "I thought he competed and he converted. That's a big task for James to be able to battle some of those monsters that Kansas State has. He matched their physicality and continued to battle every minute that he was on the floor."
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After shooting 54.2 percent from the field in the first half (13-of-24), including 40 percent from three (4-of-10), the Mountain Hawks shot just 28.1 percent in the second (9-of-32) and 18.2 percent from distance (2-of-11).
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Lehigh jumped out to early leads of 3-0, 5-3 then 7-5, with each of the Mountain Hawks' first seven points scored by Karnik. Kansas State used a 6-0 surge to take an 11-7 advantage, but the Mountain Hawks responded with 10 of the next 12 points, including three-pointers from Marques Wilson and Caleb Bennett, who were playing in front of many friends and family in homecoming games. Two Cohen free throws and a Jeameril Wilson layup gave Lehigh a 17-13 lead with 11:41 left in the first.
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Not long after, the Wildcats used a 5-0 surge to take a 21-19 advantage, later taking a 24-21 lead. That's when Andree got hot from distance, knocking down two in the span of 24 seconds, followed by a Cohen jumper to cap off a 10-2 run which gave the Mountain Hawks their largest lead at 31-26 with 5:37 remaining in the first.
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Kansas State scored 10 of the next 12 points, but two Cohen free throws in the final minute helped Lehigh pull within 37-35 at the half.
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The Mountain Hawks struggled offensively early in the second, not scoring for the first 4:01. On the other end, Kansas State scored six straight to open a 43-35 advantage, forcing a Lehigh timeout with 16:48 on the clock.
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Behind a Leufroy layup and Cohen three-point play, the Mountain Hawks pulled back within 45-40 with 15:24 remaining. Â
Kansas State extended its lead back to 12 at 57-45 just over the midway point of the half, but a Karnik three-point play with 7:56 on the clock pulled Lehigh back within nine, 57-48, with 7:56 to go in the stanza.
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"We went through a stretch when we struggled to hit shots, despite a number of good looks," said Reed. "When that happens against a team of Kansas State's caliber, it's hard to stay in the game. We needed our offense to keep up and be able to score with them. It's really a big challenge to expect us to hold them scoreless during that stretch."
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For the game, Lehigh shot 39.3 percent from the field (22-of-56), including 28.6 percent from three-point range (6-of-21). Kansas State finished at 41.5 percent (27-of-65) and 30.0 percent from three (6-of-20). The Wildcats outrebounded Lehigh 26-16 in the second half to hold a 41-33 edge for the game. Kansas State turned the ball over just 11 times compared to 16 for Lehigh.
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The Mountain Hawks return to action next Saturday, Dec. 1, when they host Arkansas State at 2 p.m. in Stabler Arena.
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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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"Ultimately, our team went toe-to-toe with an excellent team, one of the best in the country," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Particularly in the first half, we were able to make shots and we competed on the defensive end of the floor. It wasn't until really a sloppy start of the second half that we had to call a timeout and slow things down. Kansas State ended up making a run during that time period."
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Sophomore James Karnik led the offense with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, to go with eight rebounds and two assists. Junior Pat Andree had 12 points, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, while classmate Jordan Cohen posted 11 points and a career-high eight assists, along with three steals. Fourteen of the Mountain Hawks' 22 field goals were assisted.
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"Tonight, James was able to stay in the rhythm," said Reed. "I thought he competed and he converted. That's a big task for James to be able to battle some of those monsters that Kansas State has. He matched their physicality and continued to battle every minute that he was on the floor."
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After shooting 54.2 percent from the field in the first half (13-of-24), including 40 percent from three (4-of-10), the Mountain Hawks shot just 28.1 percent in the second (9-of-32) and 18.2 percent from distance (2-of-11).
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Lehigh jumped out to early leads of 3-0, 5-3 then 7-5, with each of the Mountain Hawks' first seven points scored by Karnik. Kansas State used a 6-0 surge to take an 11-7 advantage, but the Mountain Hawks responded with 10 of the next 12 points, including three-pointers from Marques Wilson and Caleb Bennett, who were playing in front of many friends and family in homecoming games. Two Cohen free throws and a Jeameril Wilson layup gave Lehigh a 17-13 lead with 11:41 left in the first.
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Not long after, the Wildcats used a 5-0 surge to take a 21-19 advantage, later taking a 24-21 lead. That's when Andree got hot from distance, knocking down two in the span of 24 seconds, followed by a Cohen jumper to cap off a 10-2 run which gave the Mountain Hawks their largest lead at 31-26 with 5:37 remaining in the first.
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Probe, probe, probe, score for Jordan Cohen pic.twitter.com/FyC7wZLXSG
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 24, 2018
ÂWhat a finish by CB???? pic.twitter.com/fgKwVZU0I5
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 24, 2018
Kansas State scored 10 of the next 12 points, but two Cohen free throws in the final minute helped Lehigh pull within 37-35 at the half.
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The Mountain Hawks struggled offensively early in the second, not scoring for the first 4:01. On the other end, Kansas State scored six straight to open a 43-35 advantage, forcing a Lehigh timeout with 16:48 on the clock.
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Behind a Leufroy layup and Cohen three-point play, the Mountain Hawks pulled back within 45-40 with 15:24 remaining. Â
ÂAND ONE for Jordan Cohen! Lehigh back within 45-39 at the under-16 media timeout and Cohen will shoot one coming out of the break. pic.twitter.com/dwq9a0jFk3
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 24, 2018
Kansas State extended its lead back to 12 at 57-45 just over the midway point of the half, but a Karnik three-point play with 7:56 on the clock pulled Lehigh back within nine, 57-48, with 7:56 to go in the stanza.
However, from that point, the Mountain Hawks were outscored 20-10. Lehigh was still within 64-52 with 4:30 remaining, but the Wildcats used a 13-3 run to take a 77-55 lead, on the way to the 77-58 final.GREAT teamwork leads to an AND ONE for James Karnik after the Under-8 media timeout. Lehigh trails Kansas State 57-47 with 7:57 remaining. Watch: https://t.co/xzbXWrr4gy. Karnik up to 11 points. pic.twitter.com/xF6CxosNUT
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 24, 2018
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"We went through a stretch when we struggled to hit shots, despite a number of good looks," said Reed. "When that happens against a team of Kansas State's caliber, it's hard to stay in the game. We needed our offense to keep up and be able to score with them. It's really a big challenge to expect us to hold them scoreless during that stretch."
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For the game, Lehigh shot 39.3 percent from the field (22-of-56), including 28.6 percent from three-point range (6-of-21). Kansas State finished at 41.5 percent (27-of-65) and 30.0 percent from three (6-of-20). The Wildcats outrebounded Lehigh 26-16 in the second half to hold a 41-33 edge for the game. Kansas State turned the ball over just 11 times compared to 16 for Lehigh.
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The Mountain Hawks return to action next Saturday, Dec. 1, when they host Arkansas State at 2 p.m. in Stabler Arena.
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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
LEHIGH
KS
FG%
.393
.415
3FG%
.286
.300
FT%
.727
.810
RB
33
41
TO
16
11
STL
9
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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