Lehigh can’t overcome tough shooting night in loss at American

Monday, January 27

Washington, D.C.

7 p.m.

Lehigh University

5-16,2-7Patriot

American

10-10,6-3Patriot

Lehigh

American

Lehigh can’t overcome tough shooting night in loss at American

1/27/2020 10:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Lehigh men's basketball team shot just 15.8 percent from behind the arc and 46.4 percent from the free throw line in a tough shooting night that proved too much to overcome. The Mountain Hawks hung tough for a while, but American extended its lead late for the 77-56 victory on Monday evening in Bender Arena. Monday's result snapped Lehigh's 10-game winning streak against the Eagles. The Mountain Hawks' fifth straight defeat drops them to 2-7 in Patriot League play, as they return home to host Army West Point on Saturday night.

"Unfortunately, on a night when our focus and energy were pretty high, when we were stubborn on defense and didn't give a lot of easy opportunities, we just couldn't convert," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We left a lot of points on the board. We missed 15 free throws and shot 15 percent from the 3-point line, with many of them very quality, squared-up looks. It was one of our poorer shooting performances, but with a higher shot quality than we've been getting.

"We found ourselves down and had to scrap a little bit of the formula that was working in the half court and see if we could extend a little bit more," Reed continued. "That's when American scored a few more points. The score is not indicative of the defense we were playing, just because we ended up having to try and force turnovers."

Senior Jordan Cohen led Lehigh's offense with 15 points, 10 coming in the second half. Sophomore Jeameril Wilson finished with 11 points and six boards. Junior Marques Wilson and freshman Reed Fenton each scored nine points apiece.

Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Sa'eed Nelson led American with 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Lehigh used a mini 8-2 surge in the early going to open a 10-4 lead following an Ed Porter layup with 13:22 remaining in the first half. Five different players accounted for the Mountain Hawks' first 10 points.

"Great little nifty reverse."@LehighMBB pic.twitter.com/ety9seXdbT
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) January 28, 2020

Ed Porter with the put-back to put Lehigh up 10-4. Mountain Hawks currently lead 10-6 at the under-12 media timeout. Watch on @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/3tlt2UZ2Og
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 28, 2020

The teams were tied at 12 and 14 before American surged ahead 18-14, making it a 14-4 run since that early 10-4 Lehigh advantage. The Mountain Hawks went 7:06 without a field goal, but knocked down seven free throws in that span to hang within striking distance.

Cohen ended the drought with a layup off a nifty feed from Marques Wilson with 4:04 remaining, then later knocked down Lehigh's first 3-pointer of the game with 1:23 left in the first. That pulled the Mountain Hawks within 27-24 and they went into the locker room trailing, 29-24.

Late in the stanza, Jordan Cohen knocked down the Mountain Hawks' first 3-pointer of the evening. Watch the second half on @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/vhGPxE1GW1
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 28, 2020

American scored the first four points of the second half, but the Mountain Hawks responded with five in a row – behind a Jeameril Wilson 3-point play and Fenton jumper – to pull within 33-29 with 16:12 on the clock.

.@reed_fenton with the smooth jumper. Lehigh on a 5-0 run to pull within 33-29 early in the second half. pic.twitter.com/W9seTPBkwg
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 28, 2020

The Mountain Hawks ended up getting six consecutive defensive stops, but couldn't get any closer than four. American would go on to score the next seven points to take a 40-29 advantage with 13:07 left in the second half. The Eagles' lead hovered between nine and 11 over the ensuing minutes until they again scored seven consecutive points to open a 16-point, 51-35 lead, with 8:42 remaining.

Lehigh pulled as close as 12 with less than five minutes to go, but couldn't get any closer. The Mountain Hawks began fouling early, trailing by 15 (64-49) with 3:01 remaining, and American hit enough free throws to extend the final margin to 77-56.

For the game, the Mountain Hawks finished at 35.7 percent from the field (20-of-56), including 15.8 percent from 3-point range (3-of-19). American shot 50.0 percent (23-of-46) and 41.7 percent from long distance. The Eagles finished with a 41-29 edge in rebounds, but the Mountain Hawks held an 11-8 advantage in offensive boards.

"You can see, a little bit of an undercurrent where our shots were short," said Reed. "I still think regardless of fatigue, we should be able to make our free throws. But nonetheless, we were a little bit shorthanded (without two starters, James Karnik and Evan Taylor, due to injury). We've had two road games over our last three in a short period of time. Hopefully, this is a time for us to take a small step away, get a little bit refreshed then be able to get back after it, eager and ready to go to improve on some of the things we demonstrated today, but concentrate more on converting and finishing."

Lehigh returns home for two straight, beginning on Saturday night vs. Army West Point. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m. To purchase tickets, please click here.

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Gallery: (1/27/2020) Men's Basketball at American, 1/27/20