Reed Fenton
Photo by: Hannahally Photography

Lehigh travels to Virginia Tech for Saturday afternoon showdown

11/15/2019 1:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Riding two straight victories, the Lehigh men's basketball team travels to Virginia Tech on Saturday to face the Hokies. Gametime is set for 1:30 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ESPN3). The Mountain Hawks are coming off an 80-43 victory over Cairn Tuesday, this after a strong 74-70 win at Albany last Saturday. Lehigh's entire roster who dressed saw action on Tuesday, including some impressive stat lines from multiple student-athletes off the bench.
 
Freshman Jakob Alamudun led the way on Tuesday, posting career highs in points (19) and rebounds (10) for his first-career double-double and second for the Mountain Hawks this year (along with junior James Karnik in the season opener). Alamudun was 6-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Freshman Andrei Arion filled the stat sheet with his first three career points, along with 10 rebounds and three assists. Senior Ed Porter had six points and a career-high nine boards. Freshman Evan Taylor (12 points) and junior Jeameril Wilson (10 points) reached double-figure points as well. Wilson added a career-high tying seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
 
The Mountain Hawks jumped out to a 16-0 lead and wouldn't look back. Lehigh also ended the first half on a 23-0 run for a 41-15 halftime advantage. The Mountain Hawks grabbed 64 rebounds as a team, tied for the second most in the nation this season and just seven from tying the Patriot League record of 71.
 
The 37-point victory was Lehigh's largest margin of victory since a 102-62 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 1, 2012. The Mountain Hawks' 39 points allowed were their fewest since allowing 38 on Dec. 31, 2018 in a 66-38 win over NJIT.
 
Lehigh will be facing a Virginia Tech program that advanced to the Sweet 16 last season, but lost its top five scorers and its head coach Buzz Williams to Texas A&M. Despite being picked 13th out of 14 teams in the ACC preseason poll, the Hokies are 3-0 on the young season, including a season opening win over Clemson. Virginia Tech will be the ninth (current) ACC team Lehigh will face in its history. The Mountain Hawks are 8-29 all-time against current members of the ACC, with five of the wins over Pittsburgh, then one each against Duke, Miami and North Carolina State. Duke was Lehigh's most recent ACC victory, in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. This marks the third straight year the Mountain Hawks play an ACC opponent, beginning last season at Miami and playing at Pittsburgh the prior year. In 2015-16, Lehigh played both at Syracuse and Virginia.
 
So far this year, redshirt freshman Landers Noley II has been strong for the Hokies, averaging 21.3 points and 6.0 rebounds. Nahiem Alleyne comes in at 12.7 points and 2.3 boards while P.J. Horne is averaging 8.7 points and 4.7 boards. The Hokies are 3-0 so far this season (1-0 in the ACC), beating Clemson, Coppin State and USC Upstate.
 
Saturday marks the first-ever meeting between Lehigh and Virginia Tech.
 
Lehigh returns home on Monday to host Misericordia at 7:30 p.m. in the second game of a basketball doubleheader with the Mountain Hawk women.
 
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Date: November 16, 2019
Opponent: Virginia Tech Hokies
Tip-off: 1:30 PM
Arena/Capacity: Cassell Coliseum/9,275
Location: Blacksburg, Va.
Lehigh's Record: 2-1, 0-0 Patriot League  
Virginia Tech's Record: 3-0, 0-0 ACC
Series: First Meeting
Radio: Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 1:20 p.m.
Television: ACC Network Extra/ESPN3 (Internet)
Internet Video: ACC Network Extra/ESPN3
Behind Enemy Lines: Virginia Tech Official Website

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