Saturday, January 12
Hamilton, N.Y.
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Colgate
Mountain Hawks look to keep momentum going at Colgate Saturday
1/11/2019 9:56:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Fresh off the largest comeback victory in Brett Reed's 12th years as Lehigh head coach, the Mountain Hawks return to action on Saturday for another challenging road test at Colgate. Opening tipoff is set for 4 p.m. on the Patriot League Network. On Wednesday, Lehigh came back from an 18-point first-half deficit and 12-point halftime deficit to beat Holy Cross 99-94 in overtime and improve to 10-4 on the season, 3-0 in Patriot League play.
Through three games, Lehigh stands all alone in first place as the only undefeated team, one game ahead of American, Bucknell, Army West Point and Navy who are all 2-1. It didn't look promising for the Mountain Hawks early on Wednesday, trailing by as much as 18 (46-28) with 5:22 remaining in the first half. Senior Lance Tejada knocked down his third three of the first half as the clock expired to pull the Mountain Hawks within 59-47 at the break.
Lehigh went on to outscore Holy Cross 29-7 over the first 10:55 of the first half (32-7 when including Tejada's three to end the first half). The Crusaders responded and actually retook a lead in the final two minutes, but a three from Kyle Leufroy followed by a Jehyve Floyd basket forced overtime. In the extra session, Tejada knocked down three more treys, two early and one with 10 seconds remaining to give Lehigh a four-point, 98-94 lead, helping wrap up the Mountain Hawks' 11th straight Patriot League (regular season) victory.
In the end, Tejada scored a career-high 36 points, shattering his previous career high of 26. The point total was the most by a Lehigh player since Tim Kempton also had 36 on Jan. 8, 2017 vs. American. It was the most by a Lehigh guard since C.J. McCollum scored 36 on Nov. 9, 2012 at Baylor. Tejada was red hot from the field, knocking down a school-record tying 10 three-pointers (on 14 attempts). He tied teammate Pat Andree (who accomplished the feat in 2016) and Joe Knight (who knocked down 10 in 2005).
Three other Mountain Hawks scored double-figure points as Leufroy had 19 points, along with a career-high 11 rebounds, for his first-career double-double. Junior Jordan Cohen recorded 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 2-of-3 from three, while Andree added 11 points and seven boards. Sophomore Caleb Bennett had nine points, including an emphatic second-half dunk that was No. 4 in SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays of the Day. Holy Cross was red-hot in the first half, knocking down nine of its first 10 threes and finishing the half at 81.8 percent from distance and 70.0 percent from the field. Despite that, the Mountain Hawks hung around, shooting 53.6 percent from the field themselves.
Lehigh finished 15-of-33 from three, with the very solid 45.5 percentage actually lowering its nation's leading figure of 46.7 entering the day. Tejada proved critical all game and has been red hot from three for several games now. Over his last three games, he is 18-of-24 from distance (75.0 percent). Over his last five contests, he is 25-of-38 (65.8 percent) to up his season percentage to 48.9 percent (good for ninth in the nation).
Lehigh's 99 points came against the No. 1 scoring defense in the Patriot League (65.3 entering the day). It's the most points scored against Holy Cross since Nov. 13, 2013. The last time a team scored 90 vs. the Crusaders was Nov. 15, 2016 at Syracuse. The Mountain Hawks have now scored 80+ points in seven of their last eight games and are averaging 91.3 points over their first three Patriot League games. Wednesday's win was Lehigh's second straight at Holy Cross, marking the first time that has happened in program history. The Mountain Hawks are now 10-4 after 14 games and 3-0 in the league for the first time since 2013. Since last season's late-January win at Holy Cross, the Mountain Hawks are 18-5.
A reigning Patriot League finalist, Colgate has enjoyed success so far in 2018-19, standing 9-7 overall, 1-2 in league play. The Raiders own losses at Navy and most recently, at Bucknell while beating American at home. Colgate gets the majority of its offense from three players - Jordan Burns (16.9), Rapolas Ivanauskas (13.6) and Will Rayman (12.0). Ivanauskas also leads the team in rebounds. Colgate began the season 8-4 and stands 5-0 at home.
Lehigh and Colgate split the regular-season meetings last year. After the Raiders won 76-72 at Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks responded with an 88-78 win at Colgate. Overall, Lehigh has won six of the last seven meetings to pull within 52-42 in the all-time series. The Mountain Hawks have won 11 of the last 16 overall. The first-ever meeting between the two sides was in 1909-10, a 25-24 Colgate win. Lehigh's first victory was in 1961-62 by a 72-71 final.
After Saturday night, the Mountain Hawks return home for two straight, hosting American on Wednesday (Jan. 16) and Bucknell on Saturday (Jan. 19). Both games will tip off at 7 p.m.
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Through three games, Lehigh stands all alone in first place as the only undefeated team, one game ahead of American, Bucknell, Army West Point and Navy who are all 2-1. It didn't look promising for the Mountain Hawks early on Wednesday, trailing by as much as 18 (46-28) with 5:22 remaining in the first half. Senior Lance Tejada knocked down his third three of the first half as the clock expired to pull the Mountain Hawks within 59-47 at the break.
Lehigh went on to outscore Holy Cross 29-7 over the first 10:55 of the first half (32-7 when including Tejada's three to end the first half). The Crusaders responded and actually retook a lead in the final two minutes, but a three from Kyle Leufroy followed by a Jehyve Floyd basket forced overtime. In the extra session, Tejada knocked down three more treys, two early and one with 10 seconds remaining to give Lehigh a four-point, 98-94 lead, helping wrap up the Mountain Hawks' 11th straight Patriot League (regular season) victory.
In the end, Tejada scored a career-high 36 points, shattering his previous career high of 26. The point total was the most by a Lehigh player since Tim Kempton also had 36 on Jan. 8, 2017 vs. American. It was the most by a Lehigh guard since C.J. McCollum scored 36 on Nov. 9, 2012 at Baylor. Tejada was red hot from the field, knocking down a school-record tying 10 three-pointers (on 14 attempts). He tied teammate Pat Andree (who accomplished the feat in 2016) and Joe Knight (who knocked down 10 in 2005).
Three other Mountain Hawks scored double-figure points as Leufroy had 19 points, along with a career-high 11 rebounds, for his first-career double-double. Junior Jordan Cohen recorded 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 2-of-3 from three, while Andree added 11 points and seven boards. Sophomore Caleb Bennett had nine points, including an emphatic second-half dunk that was No. 4 in SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays of the Day. Holy Cross was red-hot in the first half, knocking down nine of its first 10 threes and finishing the half at 81.8 percent from distance and 70.0 percent from the field. Despite that, the Mountain Hawks hung around, shooting 53.6 percent from the field themselves.
Lehigh finished 15-of-33 from three, with the very solid 45.5 percentage actually lowering its nation's leading figure of 46.7 entering the day. Tejada proved critical all game and has been red hot from three for several games now. Over his last three games, he is 18-of-24 from distance (75.0 percent). Over his last five contests, he is 25-of-38 (65.8 percent) to up his season percentage to 48.9 percent (good for ninth in the nation).
Lehigh's 99 points came against the No. 1 scoring defense in the Patriot League (65.3 entering the day). It's the most points scored against Holy Cross since Nov. 13, 2013. The last time a team scored 90 vs. the Crusaders was Nov. 15, 2016 at Syracuse. The Mountain Hawks have now scored 80+ points in seven of their last eight games and are averaging 91.3 points over their first three Patriot League games. Wednesday's win was Lehigh's second straight at Holy Cross, marking the first time that has happened in program history. The Mountain Hawks are now 10-4 after 14 games and 3-0 in the league for the first time since 2013. Since last season's late-January win at Holy Cross, the Mountain Hawks are 18-5.
A reigning Patriot League finalist, Colgate has enjoyed success so far in 2018-19, standing 9-7 overall, 1-2 in league play. The Raiders own losses at Navy and most recently, at Bucknell while beating American at home. Colgate gets the majority of its offense from three players - Jordan Burns (16.9), Rapolas Ivanauskas (13.6) and Will Rayman (12.0). Ivanauskas also leads the team in rebounds. Colgate began the season 8-4 and stands 5-0 at home.
Lehigh and Colgate split the regular-season meetings last year. After the Raiders won 76-72 at Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks responded with an 88-78 win at Colgate. Overall, Lehigh has won six of the last seven meetings to pull within 52-42 in the all-time series. The Mountain Hawks have won 11 of the last 16 overall. The first-ever meeting between the two sides was in 1909-10, a 25-24 Colgate win. Lehigh's first victory was in 1961-62 by a 72-71 final.
After Saturday night, the Mountain Hawks return home for two straight, hosting American on Wednesday (Jan. 16) and Bucknell on Saturday (Jan. 19). Both games will tip off at 7 p.m.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
| Date: | January 12, 2019 |
| Opponent: | Colgate Raiders |
| Tip-off: | 4:00 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Cotterell Court/1,750 |
| Location: | Hamilton, N.Y. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 10-4, 3-0 Patriot League |
| Colgate's Record: | 9-7, 1-2 Patriot League |
| Series: | Colgate leads, 52-42 |
| Radio: | Fox Sports 1230/1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 3:30 p.m. |
| Television: | Patriot League Network |
| Internet Video: | Patriot League Network |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | Colgate Official Website |
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