Wednesday, January 22
Worcester, Mass.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
5-14,2-5
95
at
96
Holy Cross
3-17,2-5
1
2
OT 1
F
Lehigh
42
42
11
95
Holy Cross
31
53
12
96
Mountain Hawks drop overtime heartbreaker at Holy Cross, 96-95
1/22/2020 11:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WORCESTER, Mass. – One year after the Lehigh men's basketball team erased a big deficit and won in overtime at the Hart Center, Holy Cross flipped the script on Wednesday as the Crusaders erased a 17-point deficit and defeated the Mountain Hawks in OT, 96-95. Senior Jordan Cohen had a career day offensively, scoring a career-high 34 points – 30 coming after halftime – but the Crusaders knocked down 9-of-12 second-half 3-pointers, including the equalizer with eight seconds remaining in regulation.
"We were in a position to basically try to close out the game," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "There were still 14 minutes left, but we're up 17. I think our team took a collective sigh of relief at that point and we didn't do a good job initially of defending the 3-point line. There were some easy looks. What we did during that time was throw gasoline on the fire. At that point, after Holy Cross made a couple, they were playing without worry. Holy Cross then started making some tougher shots."
The Mountain Hawks scored on their first seven possessions of the second half, but the Crusaders hung around with their 3-point shooting. Holy Cross finished 14-of-25 from distance for the game (56.0 percent) while Lehigh was 10-of-20 (50.0 percent).
Cohen's 34 points came on 11-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. He added five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Junior Marques Wilson and freshman Evan Taylor finished with 17 points apiece, each scoring 13 in the first half. Both were 7-of-12 from the field while Taylor's 17 points marked a career high. Sophomore Nic Lynch scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
"Jordan played with a lot of heart, he obviously scored the ball and took over in a stretch that allowed us to extend the game," said Reed. "I thought Evan Taylor and Marques Wilson particularly were strong in the first half. We had a lot of assisted field goals in the first half, which I really liked. I thought the ball movement was there. We were letting things come to us.
"In the second, it's a little bit feast or famine to some degree when you have a player running with a hot streak. Jordan went for 34 and was certainly one of our best options down the stretch and in the second half, but we lost a little bit of that ball movement that could have allowed us to break things loose a little bit."
Neither team led by more than four until the Mountain Hawks used a mini 6-0 surge, which included four free throws – with a Taylor layup sandwiched in between – to take a 12-5 lead.
Holy Cross pulled even at 14 and remained within striking distance for the ensuing minutes, but the Mountain Hawks responded with a 14-2 run to take a double-figure advantage for the first time. Marques Wilson scored 11 of his points in 2:48 of game action, while Taylor also hit a trey, to help Lehigh take a 35-21 advantage with 3:35 on the first-half clock.
The Crusaders went on to hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the half to pull within 42-31 after 20 minutes of play. That 3-point prowess continued in the second as Holy Cross would knock down 11 of its final 14 3-pointers taken for the game.
Both teams' offenses stood tall early in the second as the Mountain Hawks scored on seven straight, and eight of their first nine possessions. They found themselves leading 59-42 with 14:23 remaining following a Marques Wilson basket.
From there, the Crusaders knocked down five 3-pointers in less than six minutes to get right back into the game. In the mean time, Cohen was doing all he could to keep the Mountain Hawks comfortably in front, including a 4-point play with 9:17 remaining to put Lehigh back up 10, 69-59.
Holy Cross would pull within 71-68 then 73-72, but a quick 7-0 Lehigh run, capped off by a Cohen 3-pointer, gave the Mountain Hawks an 80-72 edge with exactly four minutes to go.
From there, the Crusaders would outscore Lehigh 12-4 to force overtime. Ryan Wade hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game with eight seconds on the clock. After a timeout, Cohen got off a 3-pointer, fell to the ground, but no foul was called as the teams went to overtime.
Holy Cross scored just 14 seconds into overtime and would never trail, but the Mountain Hawks kept it close. Lehigh pulled even on three different occasions, including with 37 seconds on the clock. That's when Cohen kicked it out to freshman Jake Betlow, who knocked down a 3-pointer to make the score 91 apiece. On the other end, Holy Cross' Matt Faw gave his team a 93-91 lead again, then Cohen's attempt with six seconds remaining was blocked. The Crusaders then hit enough free throws to wrap up the 95-94 final.
For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 52.9 percent from the field (36-of-68) while Holy Cross finished at 52.5 percent (32-of-61). The Mountain Hawks held a 36-31 edge in rebounds.
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Gallery: (1/22/2020) Men's Basketball at Holy Cross, 1/22/20
"We were in a position to basically try to close out the game," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "There were still 14 minutes left, but we're up 17. I think our team took a collective sigh of relief at that point and we didn't do a good job initially of defending the 3-point line. There were some easy looks. What we did during that time was throw gasoline on the fire. At that point, after Holy Cross made a couple, they were playing without worry. Holy Cross then started making some tougher shots."
The Mountain Hawks scored on their first seven possessions of the second half, but the Crusaders hung around with their 3-point shooting. Holy Cross finished 14-of-25 from distance for the game (56.0 percent) while Lehigh was 10-of-20 (50.0 percent).
Cohen's 34 points came on 11-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. He added five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Junior Marques Wilson and freshman Evan Taylor finished with 17 points apiece, each scoring 13 in the first half. Both were 7-of-12 from the field while Taylor's 17 points marked a career high. Sophomore Nic Lynch scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
How about that half for Evan Taylor? This 3-point play gives him 13 points and six boards after 20 minutes of play. Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3 pic.twitter.com/1oFC3z1PKG
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 23, 2020
"Jordan played with a lot of heart, he obviously scored the ball and took over in a stretch that allowed us to extend the game," said Reed. "I thought Evan Taylor and Marques Wilson particularly were strong in the first half. We had a lot of assisted field goals in the first half, which I really liked. I thought the ball movement was there. We were letting things come to us.
"In the second, it's a little bit feast or famine to some degree when you have a player running with a hot streak. Jordan went for 34 and was certainly one of our best options down the stretch and in the second half, but we lost a little bit of that ball movement that could have allowed us to break things loose a little bit."
Neither team led by more than four until the Mountain Hawks used a mini 6-0 surge, which included four free throws – with a Taylor layup sandwiched in between – to take a 12-5 lead.
Holy Cross pulled even at 14 and remained within striking distance for the ensuing minutes, but the Mountain Hawks responded with a 14-2 run to take a double-figure advantage for the first time. Marques Wilson scored 11 of his points in 2:48 of game action, while Taylor also hit a trey, to help Lehigh take a 35-21 advantage with 3:35 on the first-half clock.
Marques is really heating up! He's up to 1️⃣3️⃣ first half points and Lehigh leads Holy Cross 35-21 with 3:34 remaining in the first! pic.twitter.com/Hl1vDXuV8W
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 23, 2020
The Crusaders went on to hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the half to pull within 42-31 after 20 minutes of play. That 3-point prowess continued in the second as Holy Cross would knock down 11 of its final 14 3-pointers taken for the game.
Both teams' offenses stood tall early in the second as the Mountain Hawks scored on seven straight, and eight of their first nine possessions. They found themselves leading 59-42 with 14:23 remaining following a Marques Wilson basket.
Mountain Hawks scored on their first seven possessions of the half and eight of the first nine as this Marques jumper gave Lehigh a 59-42 lead. Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3. pic.twitter.com/Twqo70YEK6
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 23, 2020
From there, the Crusaders knocked down five 3-pointers in less than six minutes to get right back into the game. In the mean time, Cohen was doing all he could to keep the Mountain Hawks comfortably in front, including a 4-point play with 9:17 remaining to put Lehigh back up 10, 69-59.
Jordan Cohen is FEELING it, up to 15 points this half (19 in the game) including this 4-point play. Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3 pic.twitter.com/r7qVASLErO
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 23, 2020
Holy Cross would pull within 71-68 then 73-72, but a quick 7-0 Lehigh run, capped off by a Cohen 3-pointer, gave the Mountain Hawks an 80-72 edge with exactly four minutes to go.
From there, the Crusaders would outscore Lehigh 12-4 to force overtime. Ryan Wade hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game with eight seconds on the clock. After a timeout, Cohen got off a 3-pointer, fell to the ground, but no foul was called as the teams went to overtime.
Holy Cross scored just 14 seconds into overtime and would never trail, but the Mountain Hawks kept it close. Lehigh pulled even on three different occasions, including with 37 seconds on the clock. That's when Cohen kicked it out to freshman Jake Betlow, who knocked down a 3-pointer to make the score 91 apiece. On the other end, Holy Cross' Matt Faw gave his team a 93-91 lead again, then Cohen's attempt with six seconds remaining was blocked. The Crusaders then hit enough free throws to wrap up the 95-94 final.
Jake Betlow with a HUGEEEE 3-pointer and we are tied 91-91 with 32.1 seconds currently remaining. Holy Cross ball, 26 on the shot clock. pic.twitter.com/KrKunLMwfW
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 23, 2020
For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 52.9 percent from the field (36-of-68) while Holy Cross finished at 52.5 percent (32-of-61). The Mountain Hawks held a 36-31 edge in rebounds.
Lehigh returns home on Saturday to host archrival Lafayette at 12 p.m. on Diversity and Inclusion Day Presented by Lehigh University's Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity. To purchase tickets, please click here.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
HC
FG%
.529
.525
3FG%
.500
.560
FT%
.813
.750
RB
36
31
TO
14
15
STL
7
9
Game Leaders
Pts
34
FGM
11
3FGM
4
FTM
8
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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