Saturday, January 18
Lewisburg, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
5-13,2-4Patriot
56
at
72
Bucknell
8-11,4-2Patriot
1
2
F
Lehigh
23
33
56
Bucknell
38
34
72
Mountain Hawks’ furious second-half comeback falls short at Bucknell
1/18/2020 10:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Lehigh men's basketball team began the second half on a 9-2 run to quickly trim a 15-point halftime deficit down to eight – and the Mountain Hawks pulled as close as five with more than five minutes remaining – but the comeback attempt fell short as Bucknell ended the game on a 19-8 run for a 72-56 victory on Saturday evening in Sojka Pavilion. Sophomore Jeameril Wilson led the offense with 16 points to tie a season high, pacing four Mountain Hawks in double figures. Now 2-4 in Patriot League play, the Mountain Hawks will look to snap their mini two-game losing skid on Wednesday night at Holy Cross.
"In the first half, I thought we would be able to attack better against their switching but their big men did a good job of staying in front of the basketball," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We didn't quite make the quickest decisions and we relied on dribble penetration, which I thought was fine, but we just didn't convert as well."
Along with Jeameril Wilson's 16 points, senior Jordan Cohen scored 11 points while junior Marques Wilson and freshman Evan Taylor tallied 10 apiece. The Mountain Hawks struggled in hitting just 33.3 percent from the floor, with only six of their 18 field goals assisted.
"I have to give our guys a lot of credit because they ended up making some second-half adjustments," said Reed. "They played with quite a bit of fire and energy for a good portion of the time. We ended up finding a way to figure things out and build on the positive signs. At least we're coming out of here able to say we've got a little bit of a formula, we can figure this out and we can improve coming out of this game."
Bucknell scored the game's first five points, but the Mountain Hawks pulled within one on two occasions: 5-4 and later 7-6. The Bison answered with an 8-0 run, capped off by one of three first-half 3-pointers from Avi Toomer, to open a 15-6 advantage with 12:31 on the clock.
The margin hovered between five and nine for the ensuing minutes until the Bison scored five straight points and eight of ten to open a 34-20 lead following another Toomer trey with 2:50 remaining. Bucknell's lead kept growing, eventually reaching 16, with the Bison taking a 38-23 lead into halftime.
The Mountain Hawks came out of the locker room with a vengeance, immediately scoring nine of the first 11 points. A 7-0 run – featuring a Jeameril Wilson 3-pointer, Nic Lynch offensive rebound and layup, and Cohen fastbreak layup following a Marques Wilson steal – quickly pulled the Mountain Hawks within 40-32 with 17:05 left in the second half.
Lehigh and Bucknell continued to trade blows from there. The Mountain Hawks got within six (45-39) following a Marques Wilson basket with 12:33 on the clock. The Bison retook a double-figure advantage, but a Taylor 3-pointer with 5:51 remaining got Lehigh within 53-48, as close as it had been since early in the first half.
That's as close as the Mountain Hawks would come, however, as the Bison retook an 11-point advantage and hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute to extend the final margin to 72-56.
For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 33.3 percent from the field (18-of-54) and 28.6 percent from 3-point range (4-of-14). Bucknell finished at 51.0 percent (25-of-49) and 42.9 percent from long distance (9-of-21). The Bison held a 38-30 edge in rebounds. Lehigh finished with 11 turnovers compared to 14 for Bucknell.
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Holy Cross to face the Crusaders. Gametime is set for 7 p.m.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Gallery: (1/18/2020) Men's Basketball at Bucknell, 1/18/20
"In the first half, I thought we would be able to attack better against their switching but their big men did a good job of staying in front of the basketball," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We didn't quite make the quickest decisions and we relied on dribble penetration, which I thought was fine, but we just didn't convert as well."
Along with Jeameril Wilson's 16 points, senior Jordan Cohen scored 11 points while junior Marques Wilson and freshman Evan Taylor tallied 10 apiece. The Mountain Hawks struggled in hitting just 33.3 percent from the floor, with only six of their 18 field goals assisted.
"I have to give our guys a lot of credit because they ended up making some second-half adjustments," said Reed. "They played with quite a bit of fire and energy for a good portion of the time. We ended up finding a way to figure things out and build on the positive signs. At least we're coming out of here able to say we've got a little bit of a formula, we can figure this out and we can improve coming out of this game."
Bucknell scored the game's first five points, but the Mountain Hawks pulled within one on two occasions: 5-4 and later 7-6. The Bison answered with an 8-0 run, capped off by one of three first-half 3-pointers from Avi Toomer, to open a 15-6 advantage with 12:31 on the clock.
Mountain Hawks trail Bucknell 7-4 at our first media timeout. @Niclynch44 with all four Lehigh points so far, including this offensive rebound and soft touch. Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3. pic.twitter.com/M0QXTqiOkO
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 19, 2020
The margin hovered between five and nine for the ensuing minutes until the Bison scored five straight points and eight of ten to open a 34-20 lead following another Toomer trey with 2:50 remaining. Bucknell's lead kept growing, eventually reaching 16, with the Bison taking a 38-23 lead into halftime.
The Mountain Hawks came out of the locker room with a vengeance, immediately scoring nine of the first 11 points. A 7-0 run – featuring a Jeameril Wilson 3-pointer, Nic Lynch offensive rebound and layup, and Cohen fastbreak layup following a Marques Wilson steal – quickly pulled the Mountain Hawks within 40-32 with 17:05 left in the second half.
Jeameril Wilson scored five of the Mountain Hawks' nine points in the 9-2 run, including this triple. He's up to a team-high 12 points for the game. Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3 pic.twitter.com/LVGUqdJoR2
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 19, 2020
How about a 9-2 run to begin the half? The Mountain Hawks are RIGHT back in this one after a Marques Wilson steal and Jordan Cohen layup. Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3 pic.twitter.com/4smODYbcac
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 19, 2020
Lehigh and Bucknell continued to trade blows from there. The Mountain Hawks got within six (45-39) following a Marques Wilson basket with 12:33 on the clock. The Bison retook a double-figure advantage, but a Taylor 3-pointer with 5:51 remaining got Lehigh within 53-48, as close as it had been since early in the first half.
This Evan Taylor 3-pointer a few minutes earlier got the Mountain Hawks as close as five. ET up to 10 points in this one. Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3 pic.twitter.com/DNUWgmb5SG
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 19, 2020
That's as close as the Mountain Hawks would come, however, as the Bison retook an 11-point advantage and hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute to extend the final margin to 72-56.
For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 33.3 percent from the field (18-of-54) and 28.6 percent from 3-point range (4-of-14). Bucknell finished at 51.0 percent (25-of-49) and 42.9 percent from long distance (9-of-21). The Bison held a 38-30 edge in rebounds. Lehigh finished with 11 turnovers compared to 14 for Bucknell.
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Holy Cross to face the Crusaders. Gametime is set for 7 p.m.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
Lehigh
Buck
FG%
.333
.510
3FG%
.286
.429
FT%
.667
.650
RB
30
38
TO
11
14
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballLehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, November 12
2025-20226 Lehigh Men's Basketball Season Preview
Thursday, October 30
Season Preview: Men's Basketball
Thursday, October 31
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, October 30
