Wednesday, February 27
Washington, D.C.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
American
Mountain Hawks hit the road to play at American Wednesday night
2/26/2019 4:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's basketball team will return to action following a tough loss at home when it travels to our nation's capital on Wednesday to face the American University Eagles. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Bender Arena. The Mountain Hawks are tied for second in the Patriot League standings at 11-5, needing to do one game better than Colgate in the final week of the regular season to capture the No. 2 seed for the Patriot League Tournament, which begins next week. The Mountain Hawks can finish no worse than third, and can still reach the top seed with two wins and some help. Lehigh closes the regular season with two straight on the road, also traveling to Loyola on Saturday night.
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On Sunday, a back-and-forth game with Holy Cross saw neither team lead by more than seven points. Lehigh's lead reached a game-high six with 2:40 remaining, but the Crusaders ended the game with an 8-0 run. The Mountain Hawks had multiple chances in the final minute to tie or take a lead, but Lehigh missed its final seven field goal attempts to fall to 18-9 overall, 11-5 in league play. Holy Cross became the first team to split with the Mountain Hawks this year; every other team so far has been a sweep one way or the other.
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Seniors Lance Tejada (18 points) and Kyle Leufroy (13) combined for 31 points on their Senior Days. Included for Tejada were two four-point plays in the first half; with his 18 points, he moved from 34th to 32nd in school history in that category (currently 1,063). Meanwhile, Leufroy moved up four spots from 59th to 55th place in Patriot League history for career points (currently 1,363). Both 1,000 point scorers (Leufroy and Tejada) were recognized prior to tipoff prior to their final regular season home games in the Brown and White. The Mountain Hawks will be home at least once more, with a Patriot League Quarterfinal home game already clinched. It marks the ninth time in the last 10 years that Lehigh will finish top-four and with it, a home game in the quarters.
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Junior Pat Andree added 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists while junior Jordan Cohen and sophomore James Karnik each scored eight. Cohen filled up the stat sheet, also adding six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Tejada and Leufroy knocked down Lehigh's first three three-pointers, but the Mountain Hawks were just 9-of-31 the rest of the way, finishing the game 12-of-34 (35.3 percent). Holy Cross shot 51.9 percent in the second half after shooting 40.6 percent in the first.
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The Mountain Hawks have won seven straight games against American overall, a program-record win streak vs. the Eagles. If Lehigh wins on Wednesday, Leufroy would finish his career 8-0 in the regular season against both Lafayette and American, becoming the first student-athlete to do so against both the Leopards and Eagles. In the January meeting against American, the Mountain Hawks jumped out to a 47-31 halftime lead, the Eagles pulled closer in the second half, but Lehigh secured the 83-76 win.
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American is currently in fourth place in the league standings, in the running for a home game in the Patriot League Quarterfinals. The Eagles have had a back-and-forth league slate, losing four-of-five in January before responding with four straight wins. American's 77-66 win at Army West Point last time out was just its second win the last six games, with a number of close defeats that came down to the final possession. Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Sa'eed Nelson leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game. Sam Iorio comes in at 14.0 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds, Mark Gasperini is averaging 10.5 and Stacy Beckton Jr. averaging 10.0. American is second in the league in scoring defense (69.0) and tied for third (with Lehigh) in scoring margin (+3.3).
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Lehigh has won eight straight games against American to take a 27-26 lead in the all-time series. The winning streak of eight is Lehigh's longest all-time vs. the Eagles. Six of the last nine games vs. American have come at Lehigh due to Patriot League Tournament games at Lehigh in 2015 and 2016. In the last meeting at American, the Mountain Hawks won 80-78 in overtime behind 30 points from Kahron Ross. Lehigh and American first played in 1960-61, a 71-61 American victory.
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Following Wednesday night, Lehigh closes out the regular season on Saturday when it travels to Loyola to face the Greyhounds. Opening tipoff is set for 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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On Sunday, a back-and-forth game with Holy Cross saw neither team lead by more than seven points. Lehigh's lead reached a game-high six with 2:40 remaining, but the Crusaders ended the game with an 8-0 run. The Mountain Hawks had multiple chances in the final minute to tie or take a lead, but Lehigh missed its final seven field goal attempts to fall to 18-9 overall, 11-5 in league play. Holy Cross became the first team to split with the Mountain Hawks this year; every other team so far has been a sweep one way or the other.
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Seniors Lance Tejada (18 points) and Kyle Leufroy (13) combined for 31 points on their Senior Days. Included for Tejada were two four-point plays in the first half; with his 18 points, he moved from 34th to 32nd in school history in that category (currently 1,063). Meanwhile, Leufroy moved up four spots from 59th to 55th place in Patriot League history for career points (currently 1,363). Both 1,000 point scorers (Leufroy and Tejada) were recognized prior to tipoff prior to their final regular season home games in the Brown and White. The Mountain Hawks will be home at least once more, with a Patriot League Quarterfinal home game already clinched. It marks the ninth time in the last 10 years that Lehigh will finish top-four and with it, a home game in the quarters.
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Junior Pat Andree added 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists while junior Jordan Cohen and sophomore James Karnik each scored eight. Cohen filled up the stat sheet, also adding six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Tejada and Leufroy knocked down Lehigh's first three three-pointers, but the Mountain Hawks were just 9-of-31 the rest of the way, finishing the game 12-of-34 (35.3 percent). Holy Cross shot 51.9 percent in the second half after shooting 40.6 percent in the first.
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The Mountain Hawks have won seven straight games against American overall, a program-record win streak vs. the Eagles. If Lehigh wins on Wednesday, Leufroy would finish his career 8-0 in the regular season against both Lafayette and American, becoming the first student-athlete to do so against both the Leopards and Eagles. In the January meeting against American, the Mountain Hawks jumped out to a 47-31 halftime lead, the Eagles pulled closer in the second half, but Lehigh secured the 83-76 win.
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American is currently in fourth place in the league standings, in the running for a home game in the Patriot League Quarterfinals. The Eagles have had a back-and-forth league slate, losing four-of-five in January before responding with four straight wins. American's 77-66 win at Army West Point last time out was just its second win the last six games, with a number of close defeats that came down to the final possession. Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Sa'eed Nelson leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game. Sam Iorio comes in at 14.0 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds, Mark Gasperini is averaging 10.5 and Stacy Beckton Jr. averaging 10.0. American is second in the league in scoring defense (69.0) and tied for third (with Lehigh) in scoring margin (+3.3).
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Lehigh has won eight straight games against American to take a 27-26 lead in the all-time series. The winning streak of eight is Lehigh's longest all-time vs. the Eagles. Six of the last nine games vs. American have come at Lehigh due to Patriot League Tournament games at Lehigh in 2015 and 2016. In the last meeting at American, the Mountain Hawks won 80-78 in overtime behind 30 points from Kahron Ross. Lehigh and American first played in 1960-61, a 71-61 American victory.
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Following Wednesday night, Lehigh closes out the regular season on Saturday when it travels to Loyola to face the Greyhounds. Opening tipoff is set for 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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| Date: | February 27, 2019 |
| Opponent: | American Eagles |
| Tip-off: | 7 PM |
| Arena/Capacity: | Bender Arena/4,500 |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 18-9, 11-5 Patriot League  |
| American's Record: | 14-13, 8-8 Patriot League |
| Series: | Lehigh leads, 27-26 |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Lehigh Valley 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Tom Fallon. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30 p.m. |
| Television: | -- |
| Internet Video: | Patriot League Network |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | American Official Website |
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