Sunday, February 24
Bethlehem, Pa.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
18-9, 11-5PL
71
vs
73
Holy Cross
15-14, 6-10PL
1
2
F
Holy Cross
36
37
73
Lehigh
35
36
71
Holy Cross pulls out back-and-forth battle vs. Lehigh, 73-71
2/24/2019 5:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – In a back-and-forth game which saw neither team lead by more than seven points, Holy Cross ended the game on an 8-0 run to hand the Lehigh men's basketball team a tough 73-71 defeat on Sunday afternoon in Stabler Arena. Lance Tejada led the offense with 18 points while classmate Kyle Leufroy scored 13 on their Senior Days. Both were honored prior to tipoff. Sunday was also CJ McCollum Day presented by Coordinated Health as his number went up in the rafters in a special halftime ceremony for the 2013 graduate and current Portland Trail Blazers' star.
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With the loss, the Mountain Hawks fall to 18-9 on the season, 11-5 in Patriot League play with a pair of road games at American Wednesday and Loyola Saturday, both set for 7 p.m. tipoffs.
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A three-pointer from junior Pat Andree gave Lehigh a 71-65 lead with 2:40 remaining, but the Crusaders' Matt Faw answered less than 10 seconds later, sparking Holy Cross' late rally. Lehigh missed its final seven shots, including three in the final 10 seconds.
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"The last couple possessions, I liked our looks," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We ended up getting an open-lane drive for a guy who was cooking and we didn't convert. It went strong off the glass. Then we got a wide-open shot at the top of the key, then we also got a pretty open shot in the corner, especially considering there was only one second left. I would have taken any of those looks all the way through. When you think about it, we made those plays up at Holy Cross. Here, if you want to be able to separate yourself, those are the plays you'd love to be able to make. Give Holy Cross better. They made some tough shots during that stretch. It was just a little too much to overcome."
Lehigh's two seniors combined for 31 points, while Andree added 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Junior Jordan Cohen had eight points, six assists and five rebounds while sophomore James Karnik tallied eight points and five boards.
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The first half saw Lehigh jump out to an early lead as Tejada and Leufroy began the game a combined 3-of-3 from distance. Included was the first of two four-point plays in the first half for Tejada before a Leufroy triple gave the Mountain Hawks a 10-5 edge just over two minutes in.
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Holy Cross responded by scoring 16 of the next 20 points, as a Faw trey gave the Crusaders a 21-14 edge with 12:46 on the clock. Lehigh answered right with an 8-0 run as an alley-oop from Tejada to Karnik gave the Mountain Hawks a 22-21 edge.
A few minutes later, Lehigh's lead reached five at 30-25 following another Karnik layup with 6:08 left in the first. Holy Cross ended the stanza with five straight points, beginning with a Patrick Benzan three, to give the Crusaders a 36-35 halftime lead.
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At halftime, McCollum's number three was honored at Stabler Arena in a special halftime ceremony, as he joined Daren Queenan '88 (#12) and Mike Polaha '88 (#24) with their numbers honored.
The Crusaders added to their lead early in the second, with it reaching seven on two occasions. Holy Cross maintained the lead until less than seven minutes remaining as a Joe Foley layup, then a Leufroy trey just over a minute later, gave the Mountain Hawks a 63-61 lead with 6:54 remaining. A Tejada trey made it an 8-0 run and gave Lehigh a 66-61 advantage with 6:14 to go.
Lehigh's lead reached six (71-65) following Andree's trey with 2:40 remaining. Â
However, that's when the Crusaders made their late run, capped off by a three-point play from Jehyve Floyd with 42 seconds remaining, to give Holy Cross a 73-71 lead, which proved to be the final.
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The Mountain Hawks shot 41.5 percent for the game (27-of-65) and 35.3 percent from three (12-of-34). Holy Cross finished at 45.8 percent (27-of-59) and 38.5 percent from distance (10-of-26). The Mountain Hawks held a 37-35 edge on the glass.
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"We have guys who invest a lot of themselves into this and they spend a lot of time in the gym," said Reed. "We have guys who take it very, very personally and very seriously. For someone like Jordan Cohen, he's such a conscientious young man that might have a tendency to beat himself up a little bit. My biggest thing I wanted to do [postgame] is put my arms around him and just say it's okay. These guys have made a lot of plays for us. Any of them. They're looking at it like it's a one-possession game and if I would have done this, then we would have been okay.
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"I want them to be able to play with joy, I want them to be able to play with trust with each other, and I want them to be able to showcase their skills," Reed continued. "But sometimes there's a lot of risk with that as well. Just knowing they're supported is a big factor for me to be able to provide for them."
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The Mountain Hawks close out the regular season with a pair of road games - at American on Wednesday (Feb. 27) and Loyola on Saturday (Mar. 2). Both games are set to tip off at 7 p.m.
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With the loss, the Mountain Hawks fall to 18-9 on the season, 11-5 in Patriot League play with a pair of road games at American Wednesday and Loyola Saturday, both set for 7 p.m. tipoffs.
Â
A three-pointer from junior Pat Andree gave Lehigh a 71-65 lead with 2:40 remaining, but the Crusaders' Matt Faw answered less than 10 seconds later, sparking Holy Cross' late rally. Lehigh missed its final seven shots, including three in the final 10 seconds.
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"The last couple possessions, I liked our looks," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We ended up getting an open-lane drive for a guy who was cooking and we didn't convert. It went strong off the glass. Then we got a wide-open shot at the top of the key, then we also got a pretty open shot in the corner, especially considering there was only one second left. I would have taken any of those looks all the way through. When you think about it, we made those plays up at Holy Cross. Here, if you want to be able to separate yourself, those are the plays you'd love to be able to make. Give Holy Cross better. They made some tough shots during that stretch. It was just a little too much to overcome."
Congrats, Kyle Leufroy! #ThankYouSeniors pic.twitter.com/JzVwrxKSbi
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 24, 2019
ÂCongrats, Lance Tejada! #ThankYouSeniors pic.twitter.com/WfyryblmvK
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 24, 2019
Lehigh's two seniors combined for 31 points, while Andree added 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Junior Jordan Cohen had eight points, six assists and five rebounds while sophomore James Karnik tallied eight points and five boards.
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The first half saw Lehigh jump out to an early lead as Tejada and Leufroy began the game a combined 3-of-3 from distance. Included was the first of two four-point plays in the first half for Tejada before a Leufroy triple gave the Mountain Hawks a 10-5 edge just over two minutes in.
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Holy Cross responded by scoring 16 of the next 20 points, as a Faw trey gave the Crusaders a 21-14 edge with 12:46 on the clock. Lehigh answered right with an 8-0 run as an alley-oop from Tejada to Karnik gave the Mountain Hawks a 22-21 edge.
ÂJames Karnik... GOING UP FOR THE SLAM! #GoLehigh Watch: https://t.co/8x8dK9m2qM pic.twitter.com/Wun0bs5Ovc
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 24, 2019
A few minutes later, Lehigh's lead reached five at 30-25 following another Karnik layup with 6:08 left in the first. Holy Cross ended the stanza with five straight points, beginning with a Patrick Benzan three, to give the Crusaders a 36-35 halftime lead.
Â
At halftime, McCollum's number three was honored at Stabler Arena in a special halftime ceremony, as he joined Daren Queenan '88 (#12) and Mike Polaha '88 (#24) with their numbers honored.
ÂCongratulations, @CJMcCollum! #ThankYouCJ pic.twitter.com/3tJ09N3Osb
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 24, 2019
The Crusaders added to their lead early in the second, with it reaching seven on two occasions. Holy Cross maintained the lead until less than seven minutes remaining as a Joe Foley layup, then a Leufroy trey just over a minute later, gave the Mountain Hawks a 63-61 lead with 6:54 remaining. A Tejada trey made it an 8-0 run and gave Lehigh a 66-61 advantage with 6:14 to go.
ÂDown by one.... NOT ANY MORE! Leufroy drains the trey to put Lehigh up 63-61. #GoLehigh Watch: https://t.co/8x8dK9m2qM pic.twitter.com/yNUBFMy1xt
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 24, 2019
Lehigh's lead reached six (71-65) following Andree's trey with 2:40 remaining. Â
ÂAndree with yet another 3-pointer to put Lehigh up six. #GoLehigh Watch: https://t.co/8x8dK9m2qM pic.twitter.com/kzOFquTqN8
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 24, 2019
However, that's when the Crusaders made their late run, capped off by a three-point play from Jehyve Floyd with 42 seconds remaining, to give Holy Cross a 73-71 lead, which proved to be the final.
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The Mountain Hawks shot 41.5 percent for the game (27-of-65) and 35.3 percent from three (12-of-34). Holy Cross finished at 45.8 percent (27-of-59) and 38.5 percent from distance (10-of-26). The Mountain Hawks held a 37-35 edge on the glass.
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"We have guys who invest a lot of themselves into this and they spend a lot of time in the gym," said Reed. "We have guys who take it very, very personally and very seriously. For someone like Jordan Cohen, he's such a conscientious young man that might have a tendency to beat himself up a little bit. My biggest thing I wanted to do [postgame] is put my arms around him and just say it's okay. These guys have made a lot of plays for us. Any of them. They're looking at it like it's a one-possession game and if I would have done this, then we would have been okay.
Â
"I want them to be able to play with joy, I want them to be able to play with trust with each other, and I want them to be able to showcase their skills," Reed continued. "But sometimes there's a lot of risk with that as well. Just knowing they're supported is a big factor for me to be able to provide for them."
Â
The Mountain Hawks close out the regular season with a pair of road games - at American on Wednesday (Feb. 27) and Loyola on Saturday (Mar. 2). Both games are set to tip off at 7 p.m.
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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
HC
LEHIGH
FG%
.458
.415
3FG%
.385
.353
FT%
.643
.833
RB
35
37
TO
8
9
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
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