Saturday, December 7
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Yale
Lehigh returns to friendly confines, hosting Yale Saturday evening
12/5/2019 3:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following a long stretch of road games, the Lehigh men's basketball team hopes to get some home cooking on Saturday when it returns to Stabler Arena to host Yale at 7 p.m. The strong mid-major regional matchup will mark the Mountain Hawks' final game before a break (of games) for final exams.
Lehigh has dropped four in a row since its last home game Nov. 18. Nineteen days later, the Mountain Hawks are back in Bethlehem for their final nonleague home game. Lehigh will close its nonleague slate at Auburn and Princeton.
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The Mountain Hawks are coming off yet another hard-fought defeat on Wednesday at reigning NEC Regular Season Champion Saint Francis (Pa.). Lehigh got off to a fast start and didn't trail until the second half. The Mountain Hawks opened a nine-point first-half lead on multiple occasions, due in large part to senior Jordan Cohen who scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half (shooting 4-of-5 from 3-point range over the first 20 minutes). Cohen ended up eclipsing 20 points for his third straight game for the first time in his storied career. He now needs just 26 more points for 1,000 in his collegiate career. Junior James Karnik continued his strong play, scoring 18 points (to tie a season high) and grabbing 13 rebounds (to tie his career high). Karnik has really taken his game to another level as of late. He's tallied double-figure rebounds for three straight games and three double-doubles in his last five games (four on the season). Karnik also shot 9-of-10 from the field.
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After the Red Flash came back in the second half to take a lead, the Mountain Hawks did have one last push. An emphatic Karnik dunk gave Lehigh the lead back, 66-64, with 3:23 remaining, but Saint Francis scored 13 of the final 16 points (including eight free throws) to wrap up its third straight win over Lehigh in Loretto.
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Freshman Reed Fenton added 13 points to give the trio of Cohen, Karnik and Fenton 53 points. A Latrobe, Pa. native, Fenton played in front of more than 20 friends and family in a homecoming game. Freshman Evan Taylor added nine points as well.
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The Mountain Hawks will face another reigning champion Saturday, Lehigh's third opponent coming off an NCAA Tournament berth (also Virginia Tech and Saint Mary's, with Auburn still to come). While Wednesday's opponent, Saint Francis, won the NEC Regular Season last season, Yale captured the Ivy League Tournament title. Even though the Bulldogs have won four straight vs. Lehigh (in each of the last four years), they have been competitive contests - each with margins of 12 or smaller.
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Yale is coming off an Ivy League Tournament Championship last season, 22-8 record and NCAA Tournament appearance. So far in 2019-20, the Bulldogs are 7-3 with their only losses coming at San Francisco (in overtime), at Oklahoma State (by seven) and at Penn State (by two). Most recently, the Bulldogs won at Albany, 61-52. Late last month, Yale picked up an 81-61 victory at Bucknell. Paul Atkinson leads the Bulldogs in scoring (17.2) while Azar Swain comes in at 14.5 points per game. Jordan Bruner is averaging 11.5 points and a team-high 9.0 rebounds. Yale has featured the same starting lineup in all five games this season.
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Last season, Yale won a shootout against the Mountain Hawks, 97-87. The last meeting at Lehigh was in 2017, an 86-77 Bulldogs' victory. Yale has scored at least 79 points in each of the last four meetings. The Mountain Hawks' last win vs. the Bulldogs was on Dec. 31, 2010 - a 62-57 Lehigh road victory. That marked the fourth consecutive Mountain Hawks' win in the series. Yale leads the all-time series, 11-8.The two teams first met in 1903-04, a 20-14 Yale win. Yale won the first five meetings before Lehigh's first win on Jan. 9, 1993, 54-53.
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Following Saturday's contest, the Mountain Hawks will have two weeks off from games for final exams, returning to action on Saturday, Dec. 21 at No. 13 Auburn. Gametime is set for 6 p.m. ET.
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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 has dropped four in a row since its last home game Nov. 18. Nineteen days later, the Mountain Hawks are back in Bethlehem for their final nonleague home game. Lehigh will close its nonleague slate at Auburn and Princeton.
Â
The Mountain Hawks are coming off yet another hard-fought defeat on Wednesday at reigning NEC Regular Season Champion Saint Francis (Pa.). Lehigh got off to a fast start and didn't trail until the second half. The Mountain Hawks opened a nine-point first-half lead on multiple occasions, due in large part to senior Jordan Cohen who scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half (shooting 4-of-5 from 3-point range over the first 20 minutes). Cohen ended up eclipsing 20 points for his third straight game for the first time in his storied career. He now needs just 26 more points for 1,000 in his collegiate career. Junior James Karnik continued his strong play, scoring 18 points (to tie a season high) and grabbing 13 rebounds (to tie his career high). Karnik has really taken his game to another level as of late. He's tallied double-figure rebounds for three straight games and three double-doubles in his last five games (four on the season). Karnik also shot 9-of-10 from the field.
Â
After the Red Flash came back in the second half to take a lead, the Mountain Hawks did have one last push. An emphatic Karnik dunk gave Lehigh the lead back, 66-64, with 3:23 remaining, but Saint Francis scored 13 of the final 16 points (including eight free throws) to wrap up its third straight win over Lehigh in Loretto.
Â
Freshman Reed Fenton added 13 points to give the trio of Cohen, Karnik and Fenton 53 points. A Latrobe, Pa. native, Fenton played in front of more than 20 friends and family in a homecoming game. Freshman Evan Taylor added nine points as well.
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The Mountain Hawks will face another reigning champion Saturday, Lehigh's third opponent coming off an NCAA Tournament berth (also Virginia Tech and Saint Mary's, with Auburn still to come). While Wednesday's opponent, Saint Francis, won the NEC Regular Season last season, Yale captured the Ivy League Tournament title. Even though the Bulldogs have won four straight vs. Lehigh (in each of the last four years), they have been competitive contests - each with margins of 12 or smaller.
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Yale is coming off an Ivy League Tournament Championship last season, 22-8 record and NCAA Tournament appearance. So far in 2019-20, the Bulldogs are 7-3 with their only losses coming at San Francisco (in overtime), at Oklahoma State (by seven) and at Penn State (by two). Most recently, the Bulldogs won at Albany, 61-52. Late last month, Yale picked up an 81-61 victory at Bucknell. Paul Atkinson leads the Bulldogs in scoring (17.2) while Azar Swain comes in at 14.5 points per game. Jordan Bruner is averaging 11.5 points and a team-high 9.0 rebounds. Yale has featured the same starting lineup in all five games this season.
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Last season, Yale won a shootout against the Mountain Hawks, 97-87. The last meeting at Lehigh was in 2017, an 86-77 Bulldogs' victory. Yale has scored at least 79 points in each of the last four meetings. The Mountain Hawks' last win vs. the Bulldogs was on Dec. 31, 2010 - a 62-57 Lehigh road victory. That marked the fourth consecutive Mountain Hawks' win in the series. Yale leads the all-time series, 11-8.The two teams first met in 1903-04, a 20-14 Yale win. Yale won the first five meetings before Lehigh's first win on Jan. 9, 1993, 54-53.
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Following Saturday's contest, the Mountain Hawks will have two weeks off from games for final exams, returning to action on Saturday, Dec. 21 at No. 13 Auburn. Gametime is set for 6 p.m. ET.
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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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| Date: | December 7, 2019 |
| Opponent: | Yale Bulldogs |
| Tip-off: | 7 p.m. |
| Arena/Capacity: | Stabler Arena/5,600 |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 3-6, 0-0 Patriot League  |
| Yale's Record: | 7-3, 0-0 Ivy League |
| Series: | Yale leads, 11-8 |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 AM and 94.7 FM with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. |
| Television: | Patriot League Network (Online) |
| Internet Video: | Patriot League Network |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | Yale Official Website |
Players Mentioned
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