Saturday, November 9
Albany, N.Y.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Albany
Lehigh hits the road to face Albany Saturday night
11/8/2019 1:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following a hard-fought defeat against Monmouth in Tuesday's season opener, the Lehigh men's basketball team hits the road for the first time when it heads to Albany on Saturday. Opening tipoff against the Great Danes is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN3. The Mountain Hawks fell behind by 16 points in the first half Tuesday, but fought back to within nine at the half. They trimmed the deficit all the way down to one late in the second half, but couldn't get over the hump.
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Lehigh's defense rebounded from a tough start on Tuesday. After Monmouth scored 33 points over the game's first 12:44, the Mountain Hawks allowed just 33 points over the final 27:16. Lehigh held the Hawks to just 25 second-half points on only 25 percent shooting (7-of-28). Offensively, Lehigh went on a 7-0 run to end the first half, the final five points scored by sophomore Jeameril Wilson.
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Freshman Evan Taylor paced the offense with 15 points, 13 coming in the second half. He shot 5-of-11 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from three-point range. Those 15 points were most by a Lehigh player in his collegiate debut since Austin Price also had 15 in his debut on Nov. 8, 2013 at Minnesota.
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Three others reached double-figure points by the Mountain Hawks. Junior James Karnik tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds for his seventh-career double-double, nine points and seven rebounds coming in the second half. He also recorded three blocks and took two charges over the final 20 minutes as well. Senior Jordan Cohen scored 13 points as well, adding seven assists, four rebounds and two steals. In the process, he eclipsed 250 career assists (currently 251). Junior Marques Wilson contributed 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal.
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As a team, Lehigh shot well from three-point range. Last season's national leader from long distance was 8-of-17 for 47.1 percent. Six different players knocked down a trey, including the first-career points (both first-half three-pointers) from freshmen Jake Betlow and Reed Fenton.
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On Saturday, Lehigh will be vying for its first-ever road win against Albany (home teams have won all six previous meetings). Albany is Lehigh's first America East opponent since Dec. 6, 2016, a 62-57 loss at Stony Brook. The Mountain Hawks have also won their first road games of the season in each of the past two years (at Marist and at Monmouth), hoping to make it three consecutive seasons on Saturday.
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Albany struggled a bit last season, finishing 12-20 and 7-9 in America East play. Picked fourth in this year's preseason poll, the Great Danes featured a young roster, with five of the eight players who started games being freshmen. Leading scorer Cameron Healy returns in 2019-20 after averaging 16.0 points and 3.8 rebounds his freshman campaign. Senior Ahmad Clark averaged 15.7 points and an America East leading 4.3 assists per contest, and was recently named to the 2019-20 Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List, presented annually to the nation's top Division I mid-major basketball player. Albany is just two years removed from a 22-10 season in 2017-18.
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The all-time series between Lehigh and Albany is tied at three, with the last meeting coming on Dec. 8, 2008. The Mountain Hawks won that contest, 65-64, behind an offensive rebound and put back by Zahir Carrington with one second to go. The last meeting at Albany was a 78-66 Great Danes' victory the year prior. The teams first met on Jan. 8, 2000, a 75-74 Lehigh victory. The home teams in the all-time series are 3-0. Two of the three meetings at Albany went to overtime.
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Following Saturday's game, Lehigh returns home on Tuesday to host Cairn at 7 p.m. Tickets for the 2019-20 season 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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Lehigh's defense rebounded from a tough start on Tuesday. After Monmouth scored 33 points over the game's first 12:44, the Mountain Hawks allowed just 33 points over the final 27:16. Lehigh held the Hawks to just 25 second-half points on only 25 percent shooting (7-of-28). Offensively, Lehigh went on a 7-0 run to end the first half, the final five points scored by sophomore Jeameril Wilson.
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Freshman Evan Taylor paced the offense with 15 points, 13 coming in the second half. He shot 5-of-11 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from three-point range. Those 15 points were most by a Lehigh player in his collegiate debut since Austin Price also had 15 in his debut on Nov. 8, 2013 at Minnesota.
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Three others reached double-figure points by the Mountain Hawks. Junior James Karnik tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds for his seventh-career double-double, nine points and seven rebounds coming in the second half. He also recorded three blocks and took two charges over the final 20 minutes as well. Senior Jordan Cohen scored 13 points as well, adding seven assists, four rebounds and two steals. In the process, he eclipsed 250 career assists (currently 251). Junior Marques Wilson contributed 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal.
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As a team, Lehigh shot well from three-point range. Last season's national leader from long distance was 8-of-17 for 47.1 percent. Six different players knocked down a trey, including the first-career points (both first-half three-pointers) from freshmen Jake Betlow and Reed Fenton.
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On Saturday, Lehigh will be vying for its first-ever road win against Albany (home teams have won all six previous meetings). Albany is Lehigh's first America East opponent since Dec. 6, 2016, a 62-57 loss at Stony Brook. The Mountain Hawks have also won their first road games of the season in each of the past two years (at Marist and at Monmouth), hoping to make it three consecutive seasons on Saturday.
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Albany struggled a bit last season, finishing 12-20 and 7-9 in America East play. Picked fourth in this year's preseason poll, the Great Danes featured a young roster, with five of the eight players who started games being freshmen. Leading scorer Cameron Healy returns in 2019-20 after averaging 16.0 points and 3.8 rebounds his freshman campaign. Senior Ahmad Clark averaged 15.7 points and an America East leading 4.3 assists per contest, and was recently named to the 2019-20 Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List, presented annually to the nation's top Division I mid-major basketball player. Albany is just two years removed from a 22-10 season in 2017-18.
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The all-time series between Lehigh and Albany is tied at three, with the last meeting coming on Dec. 8, 2008. The Mountain Hawks won that contest, 65-64, behind an offensive rebound and put back by Zahir Carrington with one second to go. The last meeting at Albany was a 78-66 Great Danes' victory the year prior. The teams first met on Jan. 8, 2000, a 75-74 Lehigh victory. The home teams in the all-time series are 3-0. Two of the three meetings at Albany went to overtime.
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Following Saturday's game, Lehigh returns home on Tuesday to host Cairn at 7 p.m. Tickets for the 2019-20 season are available online and can be purchased by clicking here.
Â
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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| Date: | November 9, 2019 |
| Opponent: | Albany Great Danes |
| Tip-off: | 7:00 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | SEFCU Arena/4,538 |
| Location: | Albany, N.Y. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 0-1, 0-0 Patriot League  |
| Albany Record: | 0-0, 0-0 America East |
| Series: | Series tied, 3-3 |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Lehigh Valley 1230/1320 AM and 94.7 FM with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30 p.m. |
| Television: | ESPN3 (Internet) |
| Internet Video: | ESPN3 |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | Albany Official Website |
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