Wednesday, February 20
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
18-8, 11-4PL
91
vs
81
Army West Point
12-16, 7-8PL
1
2
F
Army
42
39
81
Lehigh
35
56
91
Lehigh uses 29-5 second-half run to turn double-figure deficit into runaway 91-81 win
2/20/2019 10:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's basketball team went on a 29-5 run in the span of just 6:42 to turn a 59-48 deficit into a 77-64 lead, on the way to beating Army West Point, 91-81 on Wednesday evening in Stabler Arena. Five Mountain Hawks scored double-figure points, led by senior Lance Tejada, who was 3-of-4 from three-point range and 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Junior Jordan Cohen added 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists (13 points, five rebounds and three assists coming in the second half). Wednesday's game was presented by JFR Salvage.
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"We didn't value the basketball the way in which we needed to in the first half," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "To have nine first-half turnovers puts our offense in a tremendously disadvantaged position. Some of them were with good intentions, trying to feed the post or trying to share the basketball, but we were just a little bit too careless with it which was really disappointing. You could see in the second half, when we got shots on goal, it makes a difference for us. We can really score it."
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With the win, the Mountain Hawks move into a tie with Bucknell for first place in the league standings, owning identical 11-4 marks with three regular-season games remaining. The win clinches Lehigh a top-four seed and home game in the Patriot League Quarterfinals for the ninth time in the last 10 years.
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The nation's leader from three-point range, Lehigh finished 10-of-20 from long distance, including 6-of-10 in the second half. After scoring 48 points over the game's first 27:21, the Mountain Hawks scored 43 over the game's final 12:39. Lehigh's 56 second-half points marked a season high for a second half.
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Tejada got two early fouls in the game's first 2:25, but found a way to make a big difference.
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"It was great to see because sometimes, foul trouble can really disrupt you rhythm, get you frustrated and focused on the wrong things," said Reed. "The fact that Lance continued to progress forward and give us not only point production, but we also had 20 assists on 29 field goals and the ball was moving around. Jordan was finding him. He ended up dishing a couple assists. Kyle (Leufroy) ended up finding some opportunities. It was really important to see Lance keep his composure, and I do think it's an indication of the way in which this young man has grown with his maturity – to be able to control frustration, push forward and produce at a high level."
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Along with Tejada and Cohen, senior Kyle Leufroy posted 17 points, four rebounds and six assists while junior Pat Andree had 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists, a block and steal. Sophomore James Karnik tallied 11 points and six boards. Freshman Joe Foley was strong off the bench as well, scoring a career-high eight points (all in the first half) to go with three boards.
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Army jumped out to a 3-0 lead and went on to lead for the entire first half. The Black Knights scored six straight points to turn a 16-12 lead into a 22-12 advantage midway through the first. Lehigh's offense struggled in scoring just one point in the span of 4:30 and just five over a 6:53 stretch.
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The Black Knights' lead reached as much as 12 on multiple occasions, but Lehigh would end the half with four straight points, via layups from Karnik and Leufroy, to pull within 42-35 at the half.
Lehigh quickly scored five straight second-half points to extend its run to 9-0 from the end of the first half, pulling within 42-40 with 17:24 remaining. Over the ensuing minutes, the Mountain Hawks couldn't get over the hump and Army took advantage, using an 8-0 run to reopen a 59-48 lead with 12:57 remaining.
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That's when Lehigh took control, beginning with six straight points from Tejada – a three then a trio of free throws. A Cohen trey pulled Lehigh within two at 59-57. Not long after, a Cohen jumper evened the score at 61 before two Cohen free throws gave the Mountain Hawks a 63-61 advantage with 9:15 on the clock for their first lead of the game.
Lehigh extended its lead with a pair of threes, from Leufroy and Andree, in the span of 20 seconds to go up 69-61. The Mountain Hawks wrapped up their 29-4 run with threes from Andree and Cohen, and a jumper from Leufroy, to give Lehigh a 77-64 advantage with 6:15 on the clock.
Army responded to pull as close as four, 81-77, with 2:10 remaining, but the Mountain Hawks closed out the win by going 8-of-8 from the free throw line over the final 1:54. Karnik also put down an emphatic alley-oop with 1:33 on the clock, as Lehigh wrapped up the 91-81 win.
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Lehigh will returns home for Senior Day on Sunday, Feb. 24 vs. Holy Cross at 12 p.m. It will also be CJ McCollum Day as part of Legends Weekends Presented by Coordinated Health, with McCollum's #3 being honored and displayed in the Stabler Arena rafters. To purchase tickets, please click here. Anyone with tickets to Wednesday's game vs. Army can get $3 tickets for Sunday's contest; fans must redeem in person at Stabler Arena between Thursday and Sunday.
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Lehigh Men's Basketball held its opponent to under 45% shooting! Fans in attendance received a free appetizer with the purchase of two entrees courtesy of The Brick in Bethlehem!
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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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"We didn't value the basketball the way in which we needed to in the first half," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "To have nine first-half turnovers puts our offense in a tremendously disadvantaged position. Some of them were with good intentions, trying to feed the post or trying to share the basketball, but we were just a little bit too careless with it which was really disappointing. You could see in the second half, when we got shots on goal, it makes a difference for us. We can really score it."
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With the win, the Mountain Hawks move into a tie with Bucknell for first place in the league standings, owning identical 11-4 marks with three regular-season games remaining. The win clinches Lehigh a top-four seed and home game in the Patriot League Quarterfinals for the ninth time in the last 10 years.
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The nation's leader from three-point range, Lehigh finished 10-of-20 from long distance, including 6-of-10 in the second half. After scoring 48 points over the game's first 27:21, the Mountain Hawks scored 43 over the game's final 12:39. Lehigh's 56 second-half points marked a season high for a second half.
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Tejada got two early fouls in the game's first 2:25, but found a way to make a big difference.
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"It was great to see because sometimes, foul trouble can really disrupt you rhythm, get you frustrated and focused on the wrong things," said Reed. "The fact that Lance continued to progress forward and give us not only point production, but we also had 20 assists on 29 field goals and the ball was moving around. Jordan was finding him. He ended up dishing a couple assists. Kyle (Leufroy) ended up finding some opportunities. It was really important to see Lance keep his composure, and I do think it's an indication of the way in which this young man has grown with his maturity – to be able to control frustration, push forward and produce at a high level."
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Along with Tejada and Cohen, senior Kyle Leufroy posted 17 points, four rebounds and six assists while junior Pat Andree had 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists, a block and steal. Sophomore James Karnik tallied 11 points and six boards. Freshman Joe Foley was strong off the bench as well, scoring a career-high eight points (all in the first half) to go with three boards.
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Army jumped out to a 3-0 lead and went on to lead for the entire first half. The Black Knights scored six straight points to turn a 16-12 lead into a 22-12 advantage midway through the first. Lehigh's offense struggled in scoring just one point in the span of 4:30 and just five over a 6:53 stretch.
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The Black Knights' lead reached as much as 12 on multiple occasions, but Lehigh would end the half with four straight points, via layups from Karnik and Leufroy, to pull within 42-35 at the half.
Lehigh quickly scored five straight second-half points to extend its run to 9-0 from the end of the first half, pulling within 42-40 with 17:24 remaining. Over the ensuing minutes, the Mountain Hawks couldn't get over the hump and Army took advantage, using an 8-0 run to reopen a 59-48 lead with 12:57 remaining.
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That's when Lehigh took control, beginning with six straight points from Tejada – a three then a trio of free throws. A Cohen trey pulled Lehigh within two at 59-57. Not long after, a Cohen jumper evened the score at 61 before two Cohen free throws gave the Mountain Hawks a 63-61 advantage with 9:15 on the clock for their first lead of the game.
Army's lead got back to 11, but LT with a BIG answer. Watch: https://t.co/Fn2MCUzmab pic.twitter.com/9MXTdBPnuA
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 21, 2019
Cohen with the jumper and we are tied! First time since 0-0. Watch: https://t.co/Fn2MCUzmab pic.twitter.com/8gWQFXkhjd
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 21, 2019
Lehigh extended its lead with a pair of threes, from Leufroy and Andree, in the span of 20 seconds to go up 69-61. The Mountain Hawks wrapped up their 29-4 run with threes from Andree and Cohen, and a jumper from Leufroy, to give Lehigh a 77-64 advantage with 6:15 on the clock.
How about a 21-2 run?! From down 11 to up eight following this Andree trey. Watch: https://t.co/Fn2MCUzmab pic.twitter.com/TJLso4JqAX
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 21, 2019
ÂJordan Cohen ANOTHER three. Watch: https://t.co/Fn2MCUzmab pic.twitter.com/gof7Y9wsK7
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 21, 2019
Army responded to pull as close as four, 81-77, with 2:10 remaining, but the Mountain Hawks closed out the win by going 8-of-8 from the free throw line over the final 1:54. Karnik also put down an emphatic alley-oop with 1:33 on the clock, as Lehigh wrapped up the 91-81 win.
For the game, Lehigh shot 50.0 percent from the field (29-of-58) and 50.0 percent from three-point range (10-of-20). Army finished at 41.1 percent (30-of-73) and 28.9 percent from long range (11-of-38). Lehigh held a 39-36 edge in rebounds.... then Karnik finishes the alley-oop.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 21, 2019
Watch: https://t.co/Fn2MCUzmab pic.twitter.com/40oHqESd26
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Lehigh will returns home for Senior Day on Sunday, Feb. 24 vs. Holy Cross at 12 p.m. It will also be CJ McCollum Day as part of Legends Weekends Presented by Coordinated Health, with McCollum's #3 being honored and displayed in the Stabler Arena rafters. To purchase tickets, please click here. Anyone with tickets to Wednesday's game vs. Army can get $3 tickets for Sunday's contest; fans must redeem in person at Stabler Arena between Thursday and Sunday.
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Lehigh Men's Basketball held its opponent to under 45% shooting! Fans in attendance received a free appetizer with the purchase of two entrees courtesy of The Brick in Bethlehem!
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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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Team Stats
ARMY
LEHIGH
FG%
.411
.500
3FG%
.289
.500
FT%
.833
.821
RB
36
39
TO
9
11
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
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