Saturday, December 8
Emmitsburg, Md.
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Mount St. Mary's
Mountain Hawks continue on the road Saturday at Mount St. Mary’s
12/6/2018 3:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team will look to wrap up its pre-final exam schedule on Saturday when it travels to Mount St. Mary's to face the Mountaineers. Opening tipoff is set for 4 p.m. on NEC Front Row. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a hard-fought 97-87 defeat at Yale Wednesday in an offensive shootout, after the score was tied at 51 at the half. Lehigh knocked down 15 three-pointers for the game, but scored just four points in the span of 7:57 in the second half, which allowed the Bulldogs to take a lead and create separation.
Lehigh led by as much as eight in the first half, but Yale pulled even at the break despite the Mountain Hawks shooting 59.4 percent from the field (19-of-32), including 69.2 percent from three (9-of-13). In the second half, Yale did most of its damage inside the arc and at the free throw line, hitting just 2-of-10 threes, but 15-of-20 two-pointers along with 10-of-12 free throws. The Bulldogs also held a 25-12 advantage in second-half rebounds.
Junior Jordan Cohen led the Lehigh offense with a career-high tying 21 points while adding seven assists. He has now posted eight, five then seven assists over his last three games. Speaking of assists, senior Kyle Leufroy shattered his previous career high in assists (6) by dishing 10 on Wednesday compared to just one turnover. It also marked the first time a Mountain Hawk posted 10 or more assists since Kahron Ross had 10 vs. Cabrini on Dec. 12, 2016. It was the first against a Division I opponent since Ross had 12 at Xavier on Nov. 11, 2016.
Along with Cohen's 21 points, senior Lance Tejada scored 19, including 5-of-9 from three-point range, while junior Pat Andree scored 16. Tejada's three steals tied a career high. As a team, the Mountain Hawks recorded 10 steals, reaching double figures for the first time since last season when it also had 10 at Holy Cross (Jan. 29). Meanwhile, Leufroy had nine points, five rebounds and two steals to go with his 10 assists.
Despite struggling a bit in the second half, Lehigh still finished the game at 46.9 percent from three-point range (15-of-32) and is now shooting 44.0 percent from behind the arc this season (81-of-184), currently fifth in the nation. In the end, Lehigh dropped a regular season game against a team not from a power conference for the first time since last Jan. 27 vs. Navy. The Mountain Hawks had won 13 straight regular-season games against non-power conference opponents.
Featuring a young roster, Mount St. Mary's tands 0-8 on the season, most recently dropping an 85-71 final at St. John's. The Mountaineers previously fell at Loyola out of the Patriot League (75-65) while dropping power-conference games at North Carolina State and Maryland earlier in the year. Last game, Mount St. Mary's started a sophomore and four freshmen. The sophomore, Jalen Gibbs, leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.8 points per game while Vado Opoku is second (11.0). Malike Jefferson leads the team in rebounding (6.4) while Gibbs and Damian Chong Qui lead the team in assists (18).
Lehigh leads the all-time series vs. the Mountaineers, 3-0, coming in each of the past three seasons. Lehigh won in 2015 (76-73), 2016 (90-71) and 2017 (75-60). Last season, Lehigh used a 17-2 second-half run to cruise to victory. Two years ago on the road, the Mountain Hawks used a 17-0 second-half run to cruise to the win.
After Saturday's game, Lehigh will return to action in two weeks following final exams when it hosts Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, Dec. 22 at 12 p.m.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Lehigh led by as much as eight in the first half, but Yale pulled even at the break despite the Mountain Hawks shooting 59.4 percent from the field (19-of-32), including 69.2 percent from three (9-of-13). In the second half, Yale did most of its damage inside the arc and at the free throw line, hitting just 2-of-10 threes, but 15-of-20 two-pointers along with 10-of-12 free throws. The Bulldogs also held a 25-12 advantage in second-half rebounds.
Junior Jordan Cohen led the Lehigh offense with a career-high tying 21 points while adding seven assists. He has now posted eight, five then seven assists over his last three games. Speaking of assists, senior Kyle Leufroy shattered his previous career high in assists (6) by dishing 10 on Wednesday compared to just one turnover. It also marked the first time a Mountain Hawk posted 10 or more assists since Kahron Ross had 10 vs. Cabrini on Dec. 12, 2016. It was the first against a Division I opponent since Ross had 12 at Xavier on Nov. 11, 2016.
Along with Cohen's 21 points, senior Lance Tejada scored 19, including 5-of-9 from three-point range, while junior Pat Andree scored 16. Tejada's three steals tied a career high. As a team, the Mountain Hawks recorded 10 steals, reaching double figures for the first time since last season when it also had 10 at Holy Cross (Jan. 29). Meanwhile, Leufroy had nine points, five rebounds and two steals to go with his 10 assists.
Despite struggling a bit in the second half, Lehigh still finished the game at 46.9 percent from three-point range (15-of-32) and is now shooting 44.0 percent from behind the arc this season (81-of-184), currently fifth in the nation. In the end, Lehigh dropped a regular season game against a team not from a power conference for the first time since last Jan. 27 vs. Navy. The Mountain Hawks had won 13 straight regular-season games against non-power conference opponents.
Featuring a young roster, Mount St. Mary's tands 0-8 on the season, most recently dropping an 85-71 final at St. John's. The Mountaineers previously fell at Loyola out of the Patriot League (75-65) while dropping power-conference games at North Carolina State and Maryland earlier in the year. Last game, Mount St. Mary's started a sophomore and four freshmen. The sophomore, Jalen Gibbs, leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.8 points per game while Vado Opoku is second (11.0). Malike Jefferson leads the team in rebounding (6.4) while Gibbs and Damian Chong Qui lead the team in assists (18).
Lehigh leads the all-time series vs. the Mountaineers, 3-0, coming in each of the past three seasons. Lehigh won in 2015 (76-73), 2016 (90-71) and 2017 (75-60). Last season, Lehigh used a 17-2 second-half run to cruise to victory. Two years ago on the road, the Mountain Hawks used a 17-0 second-half run to cruise to the win.
After Saturday's game, Lehigh will return to action in two weeks following final exams when it hosts Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, Dec. 22 at 12 p.m.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
| Date: | December 8, 2018 |
| Opponent: | Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers |
| Tip-off: | 4:00 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Knott Arena/3,500 |
| Location: | Emmitsburg, Md. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 5-3, 0-0 Patriot League |
| Mount St. Mary's Record: | 0-8, 0-0 NEC |
| Series: | Lehigh leads, 3-0 |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 3:30 p.m. |
| Television: | NEC Front Row |
| Internet Video: | NEC Front Row |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | Mount St. Mary's Official Website |
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