Mountain Hawks hold annual end-of-season banquet
4/19/2019 5:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following its second 20-win season in the last three years, the Lehigh men's basketball team held its annual end-of-year banquet at the University Center on campus Sunday. The afternoon saw head coach Brett Reed reflect on the season, seniors Kyle Leufroy and Lance Tejada reflect on their careers, team awards be handed out and more.
The Coaches Award – presented to the individual who made significant contributions to the well-being of the team in terms of attitude, improvement or special leadership – went to sophomore James Karnik. As a consummate team-first player, Karnik led the Mountain Hawks in charges taken in 2018-19 while always putting the team ahead of self. Karnik showed tremendous improvement in his sophomore campaign, averaging 9.3 points and 6.1 rebounds, including 11.4 and 6.6 in league play, respectively. Karnik consistently put up impressive numbers, especially in the Patriot League. He had double-doubles vs. Loyola and American in January while eclipsing 20 points against Boston University and in the regular season at Bucknell. Karnik's field goal percentage jumped up to 59.2 percent, from 46.4 as a freshman, while he increased his free throw percentage as well to 66.3. He also nearly doubled his block total, while just missing double-doubles in five other league games.
Junior Jordan Cohen was named the team's Scholar-Athlete winner for a third straight season for his excellence on and off the court. In the classroom, Cohen was named to the Academic All-District team, Lehigh's first honoree in 10 years, while being named Academic All-Patriot League for a second straight season. On the court, Cohen was one of the Patriot League's top guards, earning third team All-League. He averaged 13.5 points (good for third on the Mountain Hawks and 15th in the league) and 3.6 assists (seventh in the Patriot League). Cohen's free throw percentage (85.7) was fourth. He also knocked down 47.5 percent of his three-pointers, good for second. Cohen enjoyed back-to-back incredible games, scoring a career-high 32 then 33 points in consecutive contests vs. Boston University and at Lafayette in January. Cohen scored 14 points in overtime alone against the Leopards, scoring 21 of Lehigh's final 30 points for the game, all coming in the span of 7:58. The following game, he hit the go-ahead, and what proved to be game-winning, three-pointer in the final two minutes at Army West Point.
The Outstanding Athlete Award, or Athlete of the Year, went to Tejada – a first team All-Patriot League honoree in 2018-19 after being named to the second team as a junior. For the second straight year, Tejada led the Mountain Hawks in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game. The Senior CLASS Award candidate tied for first in the league in three-pointers made (85) and stood ninth in three-point percentage (41.7), which was also among the nation's best. After averaging 9.3 points per game over the first six contests, Tejada averaged 15.9 through the remainder of the regular season. Included was a career-high 36 points at Holy Cross, nearly single-handedly carrying the Mountain Hawks to a thrilling 99-94 overtime win. In that game, he knocked down 10 three-pointers on 12 attempts to tie a school record, a record held by teammate Pat Andree in 2016 and Joe Knight in 2005. Tejada eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau in the regular season at Bucknell, which includes his time at East Carolina. Tejada finished his career with 1,114 points, good for 27th in program history.
The last team award was the Sixth Man Award, presented to video coordinator Greg Tarca, who went above and beyond in his first year at Lehigh while proving to be a valuable piece of the Mountain Hawks' staff.
Lehigh wrapped up its season with a 20-11 record, its second 20-win season in the last three years and fifth in the last 10 seasons after just two in the previous 100+ years of program history. The Mountain Hawks finished 12-6 in league play and have now won double-figure Patriot League games in five straight years, and earned a top-four seed (and Patriot League Quarterfinal home game) in nine of the last 10 seasons.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Gallery: (4/16/2019) 2018-19 Men's Basketball Banquet
The Coaches Award – presented to the individual who made significant contributions to the well-being of the team in terms of attitude, improvement or special leadership – went to sophomore James Karnik. As a consummate team-first player, Karnik led the Mountain Hawks in charges taken in 2018-19 while always putting the team ahead of self. Karnik showed tremendous improvement in his sophomore campaign, averaging 9.3 points and 6.1 rebounds, including 11.4 and 6.6 in league play, respectively. Karnik consistently put up impressive numbers, especially in the Patriot League. He had double-doubles vs. Loyola and American in January while eclipsing 20 points against Boston University and in the regular season at Bucknell. Karnik's field goal percentage jumped up to 59.2 percent, from 46.4 as a freshman, while he increased his free throw percentage as well to 66.3. He also nearly doubled his block total, while just missing double-doubles in five other league games.
Junior Jordan Cohen was named the team's Scholar-Athlete winner for a third straight season for his excellence on and off the court. In the classroom, Cohen was named to the Academic All-District team, Lehigh's first honoree in 10 years, while being named Academic All-Patriot League for a second straight season. On the court, Cohen was one of the Patriot League's top guards, earning third team All-League. He averaged 13.5 points (good for third on the Mountain Hawks and 15th in the league) and 3.6 assists (seventh in the Patriot League). Cohen's free throw percentage (85.7) was fourth. He also knocked down 47.5 percent of his three-pointers, good for second. Cohen enjoyed back-to-back incredible games, scoring a career-high 32 then 33 points in consecutive contests vs. Boston University and at Lafayette in January. Cohen scored 14 points in overtime alone against the Leopards, scoring 21 of Lehigh's final 30 points for the game, all coming in the span of 7:58. The following game, he hit the go-ahead, and what proved to be game-winning, three-pointer in the final two minutes at Army West Point.
The Outstanding Athlete Award, or Athlete of the Year, went to Tejada – a first team All-Patriot League honoree in 2018-19 after being named to the second team as a junior. For the second straight year, Tejada led the Mountain Hawks in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game. The Senior CLASS Award candidate tied for first in the league in three-pointers made (85) and stood ninth in three-point percentage (41.7), which was also among the nation's best. After averaging 9.3 points per game over the first six contests, Tejada averaged 15.9 through the remainder of the regular season. Included was a career-high 36 points at Holy Cross, nearly single-handedly carrying the Mountain Hawks to a thrilling 99-94 overtime win. In that game, he knocked down 10 three-pointers on 12 attempts to tie a school record, a record held by teammate Pat Andree in 2016 and Joe Knight in 2005. Tejada eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau in the regular season at Bucknell, which includes his time at East Carolina. Tejada finished his career with 1,114 points, good for 27th in program history.
The last team award was the Sixth Man Award, presented to video coordinator Greg Tarca, who went above and beyond in his first year at Lehigh while proving to be a valuable piece of the Mountain Hawks' staff.
Lehigh wrapped up its season with a 20-11 record, its second 20-win season in the last three years and fifth in the last 10 seasons after just two in the previous 100+ years of program history. The Mountain Hawks finished 12-6 in league play and have now won double-figure Patriot League games in five straight years, and earned a top-four seed (and Patriot League Quarterfinal home game) in nine of the last 10 seasons.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballSeason Preview: Men's Basketball
Thursday, October 31
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, October 30
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, February 07
Men's Basketball vs SUNY Oneonta
Thursday, November 16
