Thursday, November 21
Des Moines, Iowa
8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. locally)
Lehigh University
3-3,0-0Patriot
58
at
74
Drake
4-1,0-0MVC
1
2
F
Lehigh
33
25
58
Drake
40
34
74
Mountain Hawks open road trip with 74-58 defeat at Drake
11/21/2019 11:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Lehigh men's basketball team opened a 19-11 first-half lead, but Drake came back and ended the stanza on an 8-0 run, on its way to a 74-58 victory on Thursday evening at the Knapp Center. The reigning Missouri Valley Conference regular season champion Bulldogs extended their lead to 21 in the second half, but the Mountain Hawks, who are now 3-3 on the season, fought until the very end. Junior James Karnik led Lehigh's offense with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
"The amount of turnovers we had and even some forced shots really hurt us," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Those are the things we can't do, particularly against a good team. If you're going to do it against a good team, they're going to capitalize. We've seen that so far this season; we need to grow, mature and make sure we take care of the ball. I praised our team going into halftime for only having three turnovers, which gave us an opportunity in this game. To have 10 second-half turnovers was disappointing."
Along with Karnik's 14 points, five others scored between six and nine points. In front of many friends and family, junior Marques Wilson scored nine points while adding four rebounds and three steals. As a team, Lehigh tallied 11 steals on 18 Drake turnovers.
In the end, the Mountain Hawks held a high-powered Bulldogs' offense more than five points under their season average entering the day. Lehigh also held Drake to 32.0 percent shooting from 3-point range, well below its 42.9 percent average entering the evening.
"This is a team that's top 20 in the nation in 3-point shooting," said Reed. "They've got a big target who's seven-feet tall. Drake's a good team. The Missouri Valley is a good conference and Drake is a good team in the MVC. They won 24 games last year. This was no slouch. They made the plays and when you're trying to keep up with a team that's really strong, you can't make the errors we did."
After a back-and-forth first few minutes which included a thunderous dunk from each side, the Mountain Hawks used a mini 6-2 surge to turn a 7-7 tie into a 13-9 lead following a Jakob Alamudun layup with 12:15 left in the first half. On that play, senior Jordan Cohen picked up his third assist of the early going.
A few minutes later, the Mountain Hawks scored six straight points to turn a 13-11 lead into a 19-11 advantage, a run that began and ended with Cohen field goals.
Drake gradually pulled closer, scoring 12 of the next 16 points to pull even at 23 with 5:51 on the first-half clock. The score stood tied at 25 and 27, but the Bulldogs scored 13 of the final 19 points of the stanza. A Marques Wilson 3-pointer gave Lehigh a 33-32 lead with 2:41 on the clock, but Drake scored the final eight points of the half to take a 40-33 advantage into the locker room.
The Bulldogs continued to roll early in the second. After Karnik pulled Lehigh back within seven at 44-37, Drake staged a 9-0 run behind three consecutive 3-pointers, to take a 53-37 edge with 16:24 on the clock.
Drake's lead reached 21 at 61-40 with 13:07 to go, but Lehigh clawed back to within 16 on multiple occasions. The Mountain Hawks couldn't get any closer, however, as Marques Wilson scored the game's final four points in the final 1:20, to pull his side within 74-58 at the final horn.
For the game, the Bulldogs shot 54.7 percent from the field (29-of-53), including 32.0 percent from 3-point range (8-of-25). Lehigh shot 39.3 percent (22-of-56) and 30.8 percent from long distance (4-of-13).
Lehigh returns to action in 48 hours when it faces defending West Coast Conference Tournament champion Saint Mary's on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. locally in California).
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Gallery: (11/21/2019) Men's Basketball at Drake, 11/21/19
"The amount of turnovers we had and even some forced shots really hurt us," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Those are the things we can't do, particularly against a good team. If you're going to do it against a good team, they're going to capitalize. We've seen that so far this season; we need to grow, mature and make sure we take care of the ball. I praised our team going into halftime for only having three turnovers, which gave us an opportunity in this game. To have 10 second-half turnovers was disappointing."
Along with Karnik's 14 points, five others scored between six and nine points. In front of many friends and family, junior Marques Wilson scored nine points while adding four rebounds and three steals. As a team, Lehigh tallied 11 steals on 18 Drake turnovers.
In the end, the Mountain Hawks held a high-powered Bulldogs' offense more than five points under their season average entering the day. Lehigh also held Drake to 32.0 percent shooting from 3-point range, well below its 42.9 percent average entering the evening.
"This is a team that's top 20 in the nation in 3-point shooting," said Reed. "They've got a big target who's seven-feet tall. Drake's a good team. The Missouri Valley is a good conference and Drake is a good team in the MVC. They won 24 games last year. This was no slouch. They made the plays and when you're trying to keep up with a team that's really strong, you can't make the errors we did."
After a back-and-forth first few minutes which included a thunderous dunk from each side, the Mountain Hawks used a mini 6-2 surge to turn a 7-7 tie into a 13-9 lead following a Jakob Alamudun layup with 12:15 left in the first half. On that play, senior Jordan Cohen picked up his third assist of the early going.
A few minutes later, the Mountain Hawks scored six straight points to turn a 13-11 lead into a 19-11 advantage, a run that began and ended with Cohen field goals.
UPDATE: You can't guard Jordan Cohen.... #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/rtbOMYKGbq
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 22, 2019
Drake gradually pulled closer, scoring 12 of the next 16 points to pull even at 23 with 5:51 on the first-half clock. The score stood tied at 25 and 27, but the Bulldogs scored 13 of the final 19 points of the stanza. A Marques Wilson 3-pointer gave Lehigh a 33-32 lead with 2:41 on the clock, but Drake scored the final eight points of the half to take a 40-33 advantage into the locker room.
Shooters shoot? Marques drills the 3⃣ to put the Mountain Hawks ahead.#GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/71pPewNpwZ
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 22, 2019
The Bulldogs continued to roll early in the second. After Karnik pulled Lehigh back within seven at 44-37, Drake staged a 9-0 run behind three consecutive 3-pointers, to take a 53-37 edge with 16:24 on the clock.
Drake's lead reached 21 at 61-40 with 13:07 to go, but Lehigh clawed back to within 16 on multiple occasions. The Mountain Hawks couldn't get any closer, however, as Marques Wilson scored the game's final four points in the final 1:20, to pull his side within 74-58 at the final horn.
OK JAMES... We see you big dawg! #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/UUwNfy5eio
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 22, 2019
For the game, the Bulldogs shot 54.7 percent from the field (29-of-53), including 32.0 percent from 3-point range (8-of-25). Lehigh shot 39.3 percent (22-of-56) and 30.8 percent from long distance (4-of-13).
Lehigh returns to action in 48 hours when it faces defending West Coast Conference Tournament champion Saint Mary's on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. locally in California).
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Coach @BrettReed following tonight's loss at Drake. pic.twitter.com/s168L22Cxq
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 22, 2019
Team Stats
Lehigh
DRA
FG%
.393
.547
3FG%
.308
.320
FT%
.667
.800
RB
26
37
TO
13
17
STL
11
4
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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