Saturday, February 16
Boston, Mass.
4:30 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Boston University
Lehigh continues on the road Saturday at Boston University
2/14/2019 5:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Having dropped two of its last three, including a Monday night showdown at Bucknell, the Lehigh men's basketball team will look to get back on track when it travels to Boston University to face the Terriers. Opening tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. on the Patriot League Network. Monday featured a strong first half, but tough second as Bucknell handed Lehigh its first loss of the season when leading at halftime. The Mountain Hawks still stand 9-4 on the year, in sole possession of second place in the league standings, with five games remaining (including Saturday's contest at Boston University). If the season ended today, being at the No. 2 seed would guarantee home court advantage through at least the Patriot League Semifinals.
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The Mountain Hawks have some work to do to secure that No. 2 seed, with still a shot at the No. 1 seed (currently two games behind Bucknell). It begins in Boston Saturday, with Lehigh searching for its first-ever regular-season sweep of the Terriers. In the first meeting between the sides just three weeks ago, junior Jordan Cohen scored a then career-high 32 points, while sophomore James Karnik scored a career-high 21, a mark Karnik matched at Bucknell.
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Karnik led Lehigh's offense Monday, shooting 9-of-15 from the field while also adding nine rebounds. Karnik had 10 in the first half as the Mountain Hawks used a 14-0 run to take a 22-11 lead, on the way to a 38-35 halftime edge. Karnik scored the first four points of the second to give Lehigh a 42-35 lead, but Bucknell responded with a 15-1 run to quickly turn the tides. The Bison lead got to 16 at one point before Lehigh made a late second-half charge. Junior Pat Andree knocked down a trey with more than four minutes on the clock to pull the Mountain Hawks within three possessions at 72-63, but Bucknell proved too much in the end.
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Lehigh's defense kept it close through some long stretches of struggles on the offensive end. Lehigh allowed just 14 Bucknell points over the first 13:36. Even in the second, the Bison shot 50 percent from the field, but Lehigh scored just six points in the span of 11:04, which proved too much to overcome. As the clock went under five minutes remaining, the Mountain Hawks had allowed just 69 points. Lehigh began fouling early to give itself a chance, and the Bison scored eight points over the game's final 1:04 to wrap up the 87-75 win.
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One of the nation's top shooting teams struggled from the floor on Monday, shooting just 27.3 percent from three (6-of-22), including just 20.0 percent in the second half (2-of-10). The Mountain Hawks finished 41.7 percent from the field (25-of-60) due in large part to Karnik's impressive play down low. Cohen did surge to 15 points (nine coming in the second half) along with a game-high seven assists. Andree had 12 while seniors Kyle Leufroy and Lance Tejada added 10 apiece. For Tejada, a first-half driving layup gave him 1,000 collegiate points (including his time at East Carolina). He became the 37th player in program history to reach the milestone and first since Joe Knight '06 to do it across multiple schools.
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On Saturday, the Mountain Hawks will be searching for their first win at Boston University since a thrilling 91-88 double overtime victory in the 2017 Patriot League Semifinals. Ironically, Lehigh's only other win at Boston U came at Agganis Arena on Feb. 1, 2014 - also in overtime. The Mountain Hawks are 0-4 at Case Gymnasium in the regular season, but have been close - including a heartbreaking 75-73 last-second defeat on Jan. 31, 2016.
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Boston University is in the midst of an up-and-down season. The Terriers own a win at home vs. first-place Bucknell, but have currently lost three straight and six of its last eight. Boston University is led by Max Mahoney, who leads the way in scoring (16.5) and rebounding (6.1). Two others are averaging double-figure points in Tyler Scanlon (13.8) and Javante McCoy (11.5). The Terriers are middle-of-the-pack in the league in both scoring offense (71.8) and defense (72.0), while they're third in field goal percentage (0.471).
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The teams have alternated wins over the last six meetings, with Lehigh winning most recently, 94-78. It marked the third straight meeting in Bethlehem. The Mountain Hawks scored 57 first-half points on the way to victory. Lehigh's only-ever win at Case Gymnasium was in the 2017 Patriot League Semifinals; the Mountain Hawks are 0-4 in the regular season. Lehigh's other win at Boston University came at Agganis Arena in 2014. Boston University won the first-ever meeting between the two sides in 1968-69 by an 81-56 final. It marked the only meeting between the two schools before the Patriot League era.
Following Saturday's game, Lehigh returns home on Wednesday, Feb. 20 to host Army West Point. Opening tipoff is set 7 p.m. Wednesday's game is presented by JFR Salvage.
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The Mountain Hawks have some work to do to secure that No. 2 seed, with still a shot at the No. 1 seed (currently two games behind Bucknell). It begins in Boston Saturday, with Lehigh searching for its first-ever regular-season sweep of the Terriers. In the first meeting between the sides just three weeks ago, junior Jordan Cohen scored a then career-high 32 points, while sophomore James Karnik scored a career-high 21, a mark Karnik matched at Bucknell.
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Karnik led Lehigh's offense Monday, shooting 9-of-15 from the field while also adding nine rebounds. Karnik had 10 in the first half as the Mountain Hawks used a 14-0 run to take a 22-11 lead, on the way to a 38-35 halftime edge. Karnik scored the first four points of the second to give Lehigh a 42-35 lead, but Bucknell responded with a 15-1 run to quickly turn the tides. The Bison lead got to 16 at one point before Lehigh made a late second-half charge. Junior Pat Andree knocked down a trey with more than four minutes on the clock to pull the Mountain Hawks within three possessions at 72-63, but Bucknell proved too much in the end.
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Lehigh's defense kept it close through some long stretches of struggles on the offensive end. Lehigh allowed just 14 Bucknell points over the first 13:36. Even in the second, the Bison shot 50 percent from the field, but Lehigh scored just six points in the span of 11:04, which proved too much to overcome. As the clock went under five minutes remaining, the Mountain Hawks had allowed just 69 points. Lehigh began fouling early to give itself a chance, and the Bison scored eight points over the game's final 1:04 to wrap up the 87-75 win.
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One of the nation's top shooting teams struggled from the floor on Monday, shooting just 27.3 percent from three (6-of-22), including just 20.0 percent in the second half (2-of-10). The Mountain Hawks finished 41.7 percent from the field (25-of-60) due in large part to Karnik's impressive play down low. Cohen did surge to 15 points (nine coming in the second half) along with a game-high seven assists. Andree had 12 while seniors Kyle Leufroy and Lance Tejada added 10 apiece. For Tejada, a first-half driving layup gave him 1,000 collegiate points (including his time at East Carolina). He became the 37th player in program history to reach the milestone and first since Joe Knight '06 to do it across multiple schools.
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On Saturday, the Mountain Hawks will be searching for their first win at Boston University since a thrilling 91-88 double overtime victory in the 2017 Patriot League Semifinals. Ironically, Lehigh's only other win at Boston U came at Agganis Arena on Feb. 1, 2014 - also in overtime. The Mountain Hawks are 0-4 at Case Gymnasium in the regular season, but have been close - including a heartbreaking 75-73 last-second defeat on Jan. 31, 2016.
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Boston University is in the midst of an up-and-down season. The Terriers own a win at home vs. first-place Bucknell, but have currently lost three straight and six of its last eight. Boston University is led by Max Mahoney, who leads the way in scoring (16.5) and rebounding (6.1). Two others are averaging double-figure points in Tyler Scanlon (13.8) and Javante McCoy (11.5). The Terriers are middle-of-the-pack in the league in both scoring offense (71.8) and defense (72.0), while they're third in field goal percentage (0.471).
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The teams have alternated wins over the last six meetings, with Lehigh winning most recently, 94-78. It marked the third straight meeting in Bethlehem. The Mountain Hawks scored 57 first-half points on the way to victory. Lehigh's only-ever win at Case Gymnasium was in the 2017 Patriot League Semifinals; the Mountain Hawks are 0-4 in the regular season. Lehigh's other win at Boston University came at Agganis Arena in 2014. Boston University won the first-ever meeting between the two sides in 1968-69 by an 81-56 final. It marked the only meeting between the two schools before the Patriot League era.
Following Saturday's game, Lehigh returns home on Wednesday, Feb. 20 to host Army West Point. Opening tipoff is set 7 p.m. Wednesday's game is presented by JFR Salvage.
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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: | February 16, 2019 |
| Opponent: | Boston University Terriers |
| Tip-off: | 7 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Case Gymnasium/1,800 |
| Location: | Boston, Mass. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 16-8, 9-4 Patriot League  |
| Boston University's Record: | 11-15, 4-9 Patriot League |
| Series: | Boston University leads, 8-6 |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Lehigh Valley 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 4 p.m. |
| Television: | Patriot League Network |
| Internet Video: | Patriot League Network |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | Boston University Official Website |
Players Mentioned
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