Saturday, February 24
Bethlehem, Pa.
7:30 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Lafayette
Mountain Hawks close regular season with critical game Saturday night vs. Lafayette
2/23/2018 3:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | Watch Live (PLN) | Listen Live | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team will wrap up the regular season on Saturday night when it hosts archrival Lafayette in what could prove to be a significant game for Patriot League Tournament seeding implications. Opening tipoff in Stabler Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday's game is presented by St. Luke's Center for Urology. The Mountain Hawks enter the weekend riding a seven-game winning streak and standing in a tie for third place in the league standings at 10-7. Lehigh needs a win or Boston University loss at Army West Point to clinch a top-four seed and home game in the Patriot League Quarterfinals. Saturday will also be Senior Night as Kahron Ross, the Lehigh and Patriot League all-time leader in career assists, will be recognized prior to tipoff.
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Tickets for Saturday's game are $10 for the general public along with Lehigh faculty and staff, and $5 for Lehigh students. Tickets can be purchased online, here, or at the door. Lehigh students can take the Goodman Bus Service to the game with buses set to leave at 6:45, 7:00, 7:15 and 7:30 p.m. at the Dialogue Center on Taylor Street (between Taylor Gym and Grace Hall) with buses bringing students back to campus after the game.
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Along with Senior Night, Lehigh Athletics will celebrate the Mountain Hawks' 2017 Patriot League Championship football team, who defeated Lafayette 38-31 to capture their second straight Patriot League Title and league-best 12th tin school history.
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Lehigh men's hoops could still finish in second or third place in the league standings. A win combined with a Navy loss (at home vs. Loyola) on Saturday would clinch at least the No. 3 seed. If Colgate also loses (at home vs. Holy Cross), Lehigh would be the No. 2 seed in next week's Patriot League Tournament. Entering Saturday, Lehigh could still finish anywhere between the two and five seeds; if the Mountain Hawks lose and Boston University wins, Lehigh would be the No. 5 seed and head on the road for next Thursday's quarterfinals.
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Meanwhile, Lafayette enters Saturday with a 7-10 league mark, needing a win and Holy Cross loss (at Colgate) to move into the No. 6 seed and earn a bye into the quarterfinal round. If that doesn't happen, the Leopards would host an opening round game on Tuesday evening.
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Lehigh will be vying for its eighth Patriot League Quarterfinal home game in the last nine years. The Mountain Hawks have reached double-figure Patriot League wins for a fourth straight season and sixth time in the last seven years. The most recent victory came on Wednesday night at Loyola as the Mountain Hawks won 80-74 for their seventh win in a row. Lehigh improved to 6-0 this February and 21-2 over its last three Februaries. The Greyhounds made a couple runs in each half to take brief leads, but the Mountain Hawks always had an answer. In the end, Lehigh used an early 9-0 run to take an 11-4 lead and went on to lead for 32:40, on the way to snapping a three-game losing streak against the Greyhounds.
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Five Mountain Hawks scored double-figure points for the first time since last month's home game vs. Loyola. Ross led the way with 20 points, his third 20+ point game of the season. In the process, he moved from 18th to 16th place in school history in career scoring (currently 1,334 points). Freshman Marques Wilson and sophomore Pat Andree each scored 15 points, 10 each in the first half. Andree added 10 rebounds for his second double-double in as many Wednesdays. Junior Kyle Leufroy and sophomore Jordan Cohen each scored 10 points. Freshman James Karnik tallied seven points and nine rebounds as the Mountain Hawks hung strong on the boards against a physical and aggressive team, dropping the rebounding battle by just two (33-31). The win was No. 197 of head coach Brett Reed's career.
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Lehigh struggled a bit shooting, connecting on just 32.3 percent of its threes (10-of-31), its lowest percentage since shooting 29.6 percent at Navy on Jan. 2 (16 games ago). The Mountain Hawks compensated by converting 20-of-36 two-pointers (56 percent) and getting to the line 11 times in the second half (compared to just four times in the first). In the end, Lehigh still reached 80 points for a sixth consecutive game.
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Lafayette has won three of its last five games and four of its last seven to improve to 7-10 in Patriot League play. Freshman Alex Petrie has emerged, currently standing fifth in the league in scoring (15.5). Senior Matt Klinewski stands first on the team and third in the Patriot League in scoring (16.5) while adding 5.9 boards per contest. Freshman Justin Jaworski is also averaging double-figure points (10.4). The Leopards stand fifth in the league in scoring (71.3) and they're third in three-point field goal percentage (0.371). Most recently, Lafayette dropped an 81-65 loss at Boston University, one game after picking up a 90-85 win over American.
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Lehigh has won five straight games over Lafayette to pull within 139-87 in the all-time series. The Patriot League opener saw the Mountain Hawks pull out a 79-74 win, one year after defeating the Leopards 81-55 in Easton. That marked Lehigh's largest win over the Leopards since Jan. 21, 1995. The Mountain Hawks' other wins in their five-game streak came by finals of 75-68, 73-61 and 87-72, respectively. Lehigh has won seven of its last nine meetings overall, including two straight at home. The long-time rivals first met in 1901-92, a 46-13 Lehigh victory. Lehigh won the first four games with Lafayette's first win coming in 1914-15. Lafayette currently leads the all-time series, 139-86 in the most-played opponent for both schools.
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Following Saturday's game, Lehigh will look ahead to the Patriot League Quarterfinals next Thursday, Mar. 1.
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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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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's basketball team will wrap up the regular season on Saturday night when it hosts archrival Lafayette in what could prove to be a significant game for Patriot League Tournament seeding implications. Opening tipoff in Stabler Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday's game is presented by St. Luke's Center for Urology. The Mountain Hawks enter the weekend riding a seven-game winning streak and standing in a tie for third place in the league standings at 10-7. Lehigh needs a win or Boston University loss at Army West Point to clinch a top-four seed and home game in the Patriot League Quarterfinals. Saturday will also be Senior Night as Kahron Ross, the Lehigh and Patriot League all-time leader in career assists, will be recognized prior to tipoff.
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Tickets for Saturday's game are $10 for the general public along with Lehigh faculty and staff, and $5 for Lehigh students. Tickets can be purchased online, here, or at the door. Lehigh students can take the Goodman Bus Service to the game with buses set to leave at 6:45, 7:00, 7:15 and 7:30 p.m. at the Dialogue Center on Taylor Street (between Taylor Gym and Grace Hall) with buses bringing students back to campus after the game.
Â
Along with Senior Night, Lehigh Athletics will celebrate the Mountain Hawks' 2017 Patriot League Championship football team, who defeated Lafayette 38-31 to capture their second straight Patriot League Title and league-best 12th tin school history.
Â
Lehigh men's hoops could still finish in second or third place in the league standings. A win combined with a Navy loss (at home vs. Loyola) on Saturday would clinch at least the No. 3 seed. If Colgate also loses (at home vs. Holy Cross), Lehigh would be the No. 2 seed in next week's Patriot League Tournament. Entering Saturday, Lehigh could still finish anywhere between the two and five seeds; if the Mountain Hawks lose and Boston University wins, Lehigh would be the No. 5 seed and head on the road for next Thursday's quarterfinals.
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Meanwhile, Lafayette enters Saturday with a 7-10 league mark, needing a win and Holy Cross loss (at Colgate) to move into the No. 6 seed and earn a bye into the quarterfinal round. If that doesn't happen, the Leopards would host an opening round game on Tuesday evening.
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Lehigh will be vying for its eighth Patriot League Quarterfinal home game in the last nine years. The Mountain Hawks have reached double-figure Patriot League wins for a fourth straight season and sixth time in the last seven years. The most recent victory came on Wednesday night at Loyola as the Mountain Hawks won 80-74 for their seventh win in a row. Lehigh improved to 6-0 this February and 21-2 over its last three Februaries. The Greyhounds made a couple runs in each half to take brief leads, but the Mountain Hawks always had an answer. In the end, Lehigh used an early 9-0 run to take an 11-4 lead and went on to lead for 32:40, on the way to snapping a three-game losing streak against the Greyhounds.
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Five Mountain Hawks scored double-figure points for the first time since last month's home game vs. Loyola. Ross led the way with 20 points, his third 20+ point game of the season. In the process, he moved from 18th to 16th place in school history in career scoring (currently 1,334 points). Freshman Marques Wilson and sophomore Pat Andree each scored 15 points, 10 each in the first half. Andree added 10 rebounds for his second double-double in as many Wednesdays. Junior Kyle Leufroy and sophomore Jordan Cohen each scored 10 points. Freshman James Karnik tallied seven points and nine rebounds as the Mountain Hawks hung strong on the boards against a physical and aggressive team, dropping the rebounding battle by just two (33-31). The win was No. 197 of head coach Brett Reed's career.
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Lehigh struggled a bit shooting, connecting on just 32.3 percent of its threes (10-of-31), its lowest percentage since shooting 29.6 percent at Navy on Jan. 2 (16 games ago). The Mountain Hawks compensated by converting 20-of-36 two-pointers (56 percent) and getting to the line 11 times in the second half (compared to just four times in the first). In the end, Lehigh still reached 80 points for a sixth consecutive game.
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Lafayette has won three of its last five games and four of its last seven to improve to 7-10 in Patriot League play. Freshman Alex Petrie has emerged, currently standing fifth in the league in scoring (15.5). Senior Matt Klinewski stands first on the team and third in the Patriot League in scoring (16.5) while adding 5.9 boards per contest. Freshman Justin Jaworski is also averaging double-figure points (10.4). The Leopards stand fifth in the league in scoring (71.3) and they're third in three-point field goal percentage (0.371). Most recently, Lafayette dropped an 81-65 loss at Boston University, one game after picking up a 90-85 win over American.
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Lehigh has won five straight games over Lafayette to pull within 139-87 in the all-time series. The Patriot League opener saw the Mountain Hawks pull out a 79-74 win, one year after defeating the Leopards 81-55 in Easton. That marked Lehigh's largest win over the Leopards since Jan. 21, 1995. The Mountain Hawks' other wins in their five-game streak came by finals of 75-68, 73-61 and 87-72, respectively. Lehigh has won seven of its last nine meetings overall, including two straight at home. The long-time rivals first met in 1901-92, a 46-13 Lehigh victory. Lehigh won the first four games with Lafayette's first win coming in 1914-15. Lafayette currently leads the all-time series, 139-86 in the most-played opponent for both schools.
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Following Saturday's game, Lehigh will look ahead to the Patriot League Quarterfinals next Thursday, Mar. 1.
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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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Players Mentioned
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