Wednesday, January 23
Annapolis, Md.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
12-6, 5-2PL
85
at
74
Navy
6-12, 3-4PL
1
2
F
Lehigh
40
45
85
Navy
34
40
74
Lehigh bounces back with 85-74 win at Navy
1/23/2019 11:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the second time in the last three games, five Mountain Hawks scored double-figure points as the Lehigh men's basketball team led for nearly 37 minutes in an 85-74 win at Navy on Wednesday evening in Alumni Hall. Senior Lance Tejada led the offense with 22 points, including five three-pointers, while sophomore James Karnik scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half to help Lehigh pull away. With the win, the Mountain Hawks improve to 12-6 on the season, 5-2 in Patriot League play.
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Karnik finished with 14 points and five rebounds, shooting 5-of-8 from the field. Junior Pat Andree tallied 16 points and a career-high six assists while senior Kyle Leufroy tallied 15 points and sophomore Caleb Bennett scored a season-high 12. The Mountain Hawks, who are now 6-0 after a loss this season, forced a season-best 20 turnovers behind a season-high 11 steals.
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"I thought it was important that we established ourselves early," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We hit some of our defensive goals early in the game, which gave us some confidence. Navy is a team that will keep coming at you, but I thought we did a relatively solid job. What really hurt us was some of the offensive rebounds. They played powerfully. Some of them were scramble types of rebounds, then we made a bit of an adjustment in the second half to only hold them to three offensive boards. I thought LT (Lance Tejada) played extremely hard in the beginning of the game. Partially because of our defensive effort, we had a lot of points off turnovers, which was nice for us to be able to get some runouts and some easy opportunities."
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Navy held early leads of 1-0 and 6-5, but the Mountain Hawks used a 9-0 run – beginning with four straight points from Leufroy and ending with five straight from Tejada – to take a 14-6 advantage with 14:11 on the clock.Â
The Mids responded by scoring 11 of the next 13 points to retake a 17-16 lead midway through the first half. The Mountain Hawks came right back with eight in a row, capped off by an emphatic Bennett fastbreak dunk following a behind-the-back pass from junior Jordan Cohen, giving Lehigh a 24-17 with just under eight minutes left in the first.
Lehigh maintained the lead the rest of the half, with Navy pulling as close as one with 1:39 remaining. However, Tejada's third three of the first half in the final seconds gave the Mountain Hawks a 40-34 lead after 20 minutes of play.
The Mountain Hawks maintained their lead throughout the second half, but the Mids wouldn't go away quietly. Early in the stanza, Andree found Karnik for the slam and less than a minute later, Tejada knocked down another trey to give the Mountain Hawks a 49-42 lead with 16:21 remaining.
Midway through the half, with Lehigh's lead at three, Karnik's aggressive offensive rebounding led to a flagrant foul on Navy. Karnik hit both free throws, then converted a layup on the ensuing possession to give Lehigh a 62-55 lead with 9:09 left in the second.
"I love the things that James brings to our team," said Reed. "He's a high-energy guy. He's a guy who even in our walkthrough today, was the person saying 'hey guys, let's make sure we communicate.' He brings a lot of intangibles. To go up and snatch a rebound with two hands like he did in the second half towards the end of the game, or keep an offensive rebound alive, those are big-time plays. And then, to sacrifice his body, get in front of a drive and take a very meaningful charge for us, which epitomizes the type of value he can bring to our program."
After Karnik's four-point possession, the Mountain Hawks would lead by at least six over the game's final 9:09. Leading 66-60, Lehigh scored 12 of the next 15 points to take control, 78-63, on the way to the 85-74 final.
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For the game, Lehigh shot 47.4 percent from the field (27-of-57), including 26.9 percent from three-point range (7-of-26). Navy finished at 45.3 percent (29-of-64) and 33.3 percent from long range (8-of-24). The Midshipmen held a 37-31 edge in rebounds. Lehigh's three-point percentage was a season-worst, but the Mountain Hawks compensated by shooting 20-of-31 on two-pointers (64.5 percent) and 24-of-26 from the free throw line (92.3 percent).
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The Mountain Hawks return home on Saturday to host Boston University at 2 p.m. as part of Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week. Tickets are available online and can be purchased 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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Karnik finished with 14 points and five rebounds, shooting 5-of-8 from the field. Junior Pat Andree tallied 16 points and a career-high six assists while senior Kyle Leufroy tallied 15 points and sophomore Caleb Bennett scored a season-high 12. The Mountain Hawks, who are now 6-0 after a loss this season, forced a season-best 20 turnovers behind a season-high 11 steals.
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"I thought it was important that we established ourselves early," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We hit some of our defensive goals early in the game, which gave us some confidence. Navy is a team that will keep coming at you, but I thought we did a relatively solid job. What really hurt us was some of the offensive rebounds. They played powerfully. Some of them were scramble types of rebounds, then we made a bit of an adjustment in the second half to only hold them to three offensive boards. I thought LT (Lance Tejada) played extremely hard in the beginning of the game. Partially because of our defensive effort, we had a lot of points off turnovers, which was nice for us to be able to get some runouts and some easy opportunities."
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Navy held early leads of 1-0 and 6-5, but the Mountain Hawks used a 9-0 run – beginning with four straight points from Leufroy and ending with five straight from Tejada – to take a 14-6 advantage with 14:11 on the clock.Â
The Mids responded by scoring 11 of the next 13 points to retake a 17-16 lead midway through the first half. The Mountain Hawks came right back with eight in a row, capped off by an emphatic Bennett fastbreak dunk following a behind-the-back pass from junior Jordan Cohen, giving Lehigh a 24-17 with just under eight minutes left in the first.
Â?? Highlight-Reel Alert ?? Jordan Cohen Behind-The-Back to Caleb Bennett for the emphatic slam. #SCTop10 @PLTop3 @ESPNAssignmentDesk pic.twitter.com/MMZuY8cVgd
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 24, 2019
Lehigh maintained the lead the rest of the half, with Navy pulling as close as one with 1:39 remaining. However, Tejada's third three of the first half in the final seconds gave the Mountain Hawks a 40-34 lead after 20 minutes of play.
ÂGreat way to end the half pic.twitter.com/oqgo0W1jju
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 24, 2019
The Mountain Hawks maintained their lead throughout the second half, but the Mids wouldn't go away quietly. Early in the stanza, Andree found Karnik for the slam and less than a minute later, Tejada knocked down another trey to give the Mountain Hawks a 49-42 lead with 16:21 remaining.
ÂPretty basketball. Pat Andree to James Karnik for the SLAM. Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LK8FOt. pic.twitter.com/XSTNUdukxA
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 24, 2019
Midway through the half, with Lehigh's lead at three, Karnik's aggressive offensive rebounding led to a flagrant foul on Navy. Karnik hit both free throws, then converted a layup on the ensuing possession to give Lehigh a 62-55 lead with 9:09 left in the second.
ÂJames Karnik doing WORK this half. Up to 14 points tonight ?? pic.twitter.com/iRSre6LD3O
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 24, 2019
"I love the things that James brings to our team," said Reed. "He's a high-energy guy. He's a guy who even in our walkthrough today, was the person saying 'hey guys, let's make sure we communicate.' He brings a lot of intangibles. To go up and snatch a rebound with two hands like he did in the second half towards the end of the game, or keep an offensive rebound alive, those are big-time plays. And then, to sacrifice his body, get in front of a drive and take a very meaningful charge for us, which epitomizes the type of value he can bring to our program."
ÂWhat hasn't James Karnik done this half?! pic.twitter.com/VcfFzHUGkT
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 24, 2019
After Karnik's four-point possession, the Mountain Hawks would lead by at least six over the game's final 9:09. Leading 66-60, Lehigh scored 12 of the next 15 points to take control, 78-63, on the way to the 85-74 final.
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For the game, Lehigh shot 47.4 percent from the field (27-of-57), including 26.9 percent from three-point range (7-of-26). Navy finished at 45.3 percent (29-of-64) and 33.3 percent from long range (8-of-24). The Midshipmen held a 37-31 edge in rebounds. Lehigh's three-point percentage was a season-worst, but the Mountain Hawks compensated by shooting 20-of-31 on two-pointers (64.5 percent) and 24-of-26 from the free throw line (92.3 percent).
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The Mountain Hawks return home on Saturday to host Boston University at 2 p.m. as part of Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week. Tickets are available online and can be purchased 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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Team Stats
LEHIGH
NAVY
FG%
.474
.453
3FG%
.269
.333
FT%
.923
.571
RB
31
37
TO
15
20
STL
11
6
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
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