Wednesday, February 12
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
7-18,4-9Patriot
89
vs
82
Holy Cross
3-23,2-11Patriot
1
2
F
Holy Cross
33
49
82
Lehigh
41
48
89
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks top Holy Cross, 89-82, for second straight win
2/12/2020 10:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's basketball team opened an eight-point halftime lead and held off Holy Cross in the second to down the Crusaders, 89-82 on Wednesday evening in Stabler Arena. The win was the Mountain Hawks' second straight following Saturday's thrilling 62-59 victory at Lafayette. One game after a career-high 15 rebounds in that Lafayette victory, sophomore Jeameril Wilson led the offense with a career-high 19 points on Wednesday. Junior Marques Wilson added 16 points, a career-high nine assists and six rebounds in an impressive all-around effort.
"I certainly think we won the game tonight because of our first-half performance more than our second-half performance," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "I love the way in which our guys competed. Holy Cross came out on fire, they came out with great energy, and we answered the call. That's a tremendous sign of toughness. We then locked in and ended up getting a lot of different stops throughout the course of the first half, which allowed us to build a pretty big and sizable lead."
Jeameril Wilson shot 7-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Senior Jordan Cohen scored 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting while Marques Wilson, who was on pace for a triple-double for a good chunk of the game, finished 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
Making his return to the lineup after missing 10 games due to injury, junior James Karnik scored nine points in 21 minutes off the bench, shooting 3-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line while finishing with a game high plus/minus of +11. Freshman Evan Taylor also scored nine points in just his second game since returning from injury.
"In the second half, Holy Cross ended up making some plays, but I think some of the plays were a little bit self-inflicted on our part," said Reed. "I was disappointed with some of the open-floor scoring they had and some of the immediate closeout drives they attacked. That's where we have to get better. But we ended up having some excellent individual offensive performances from Marques Wilson, who got a hot streak early in the second half, Jordan Cohen who ended up carrying us during a small stretch in the middle of the second half, and Jeameril Wilson, who was effective all night long scoring the basketball."
After Lehigh opened the scoring, Holy Cross scored seven straight to take an early 7-2 advantage. The Mountain Hawks answered with six of the next nine points. A Cohen layup off a nifty feed from Marques Wilson pulled the Mountain Hawks within 10-8 with 16:16 on the clock.
With Lehigh trailing 15-8, the Mountain Hawks went on a 9-2 run with a trio of 3-pointers in the span of 1:10 to even the score at 17 with 13:03 left in the first half. The Mountain Hawks extended their run to 14-4 as a Cohen trey, their fourth 3-pointer in 2:50 of action, gave the Mountain Hawks a 22-19 advantage with 11:23 on the clock.
After a Holy Cross basket, the Mountain Hawks extended their run to 19-6 as a Marques Wilson 3-point play gave Lehigh a 27-21 lead with 9:19 on the first-half clock.
Lehigh's lead hovered between three and nine over the ensuing minutes until a Marques Wilson 3-pointer gave the Mountain Hawks their first double-digit lead at 41-31, with 2:55 to go in the first, on the way to a 41-33 halftime advantage.
The second half saw Holy Cross make a run to within two possessions, but the Mountain Hawks answer right back. The Crusaders pulled as close as four on two occasions (55-51 and 57-53), but Marques Wilson knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the span of 28 seconds to help Lehigh retake a 10-point advantage at 63-53 with 10:28 on the clock.
Holy Cross would pull within five and later six, but the Mountain Hawks put the Crusaders away for good with a mini 8-3 surge to take a 12-point, 80-68 lead following a pair of Karnik free throws with 4:37 remaining. Holy Cross got within seven down the stretch, but could never get back to within two possessions as the Mountain Hawks closed out the victory.
For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 50.0 percent from the field (31-of-62) and 45.0 percent from 3-point range. Holy Cross finished at 52.8 percent (28-of-53) and 46.7 percent from long distance (7-of-15). Led by 13 offensive rebounds (10 in the first half), Lehigh posted a 35-23 edge on the glass.
"Thirteen offensive rebounds is a great sign of energy," said Reed. "Jeameril helped set the tone. He's sitting there with four offensive rebounds, and that's pretty impressive for him to be able to get his hands on the basketball, give us some extra possessions and more opportunities to score."
Lehigh will now hit the road for two straight games, traveling to Army West Point on Saturday (1 p.m.) and Colgate next Wednesday (7 p.m.).
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Gallery: (2/12/2020) Men's Basketball vs. Holy Cross, 2/12/20
"I certainly think we won the game tonight because of our first-half performance more than our second-half performance," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "I love the way in which our guys competed. Holy Cross came out on fire, they came out with great energy, and we answered the call. That's a tremendous sign of toughness. We then locked in and ended up getting a lot of different stops throughout the course of the first half, which allowed us to build a pretty big and sizable lead."
Jeameril Wilson shot 7-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Senior Jordan Cohen scored 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting while Marques Wilson, who was on pace for a triple-double for a good chunk of the game, finished 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
Making his return to the lineup after missing 10 games due to injury, junior James Karnik scored nine points in 21 minutes off the bench, shooting 3-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line while finishing with a game high plus/minus of +11. Freshman Evan Taylor also scored nine points in just his second game since returning from injury.
"In the second half, Holy Cross ended up making some plays, but I think some of the plays were a little bit self-inflicted on our part," said Reed. "I was disappointed with some of the open-floor scoring they had and some of the immediate closeout drives they attacked. That's where we have to get better. But we ended up having some excellent individual offensive performances from Marques Wilson, who got a hot streak early in the second half, Jordan Cohen who ended up carrying us during a small stretch in the middle of the second half, and Jeameril Wilson, who was effective all night long scoring the basketball."
After Lehigh opened the scoring, Holy Cross scored seven straight to take an early 7-2 advantage. The Mountain Hawks answered with six of the next nine points. A Cohen layup off a nifty feed from Marques Wilson pulled the Mountain Hawks within 10-8 with 16:16 on the clock.
With Lehigh trailing 15-8, the Mountain Hawks went on a 9-2 run with a trio of 3-pointers in the span of 1:10 to even the score at 17 with 13:03 left in the first half. The Mountain Hawks extended their run to 14-4 as a Cohen trey, their fourth 3-pointer in 2:50 of action, gave the Mountain Hawks a 22-19 advantage with 11:23 on the clock.
Mountain Hawks have come back strong in this one as Jordan Cohen knocks down a trey for a 22-19 lead at the under-12 media timeout. Jordan up to seven. Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3 pic.twitter.com/gZfGrKycE0
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 13, 2020
After a Holy Cross basket, the Mountain Hawks extended their run to 19-6 as a Marques Wilson 3-point play gave Lehigh a 27-21 lead with 9:19 on the first-half clock.
Lehigh's lead hovered between three and nine over the ensuing minutes until a Marques Wilson 3-pointer gave the Mountain Hawks their first double-digit lead at 41-31, with 2:55 to go in the first, on the way to a 41-33 halftime advantage.
Great drive and finish by Jeameril to give the Mountain Hawks a nine-point lead at our final first-half media timeout. Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3 pic.twitter.com/skj2UubkRk
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 13, 2020
The second half saw Holy Cross make a run to within two possessions, but the Mountain Hawks answer right back. The Crusaders pulled as close as four on two occasions (55-51 and 57-53), but Marques Wilson knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the span of 28 seconds to help Lehigh retake a 10-point advantage at 63-53 with 10:28 on the clock.
Marques Wilson is FEELING IT! 3-pointers on consecutive possessions gives him 16 points and puts the Mountain Hawks back up double figures. Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3 pic.twitter.com/gMuz3ghLOQ
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 13, 2020
Holy Cross would pull within five and later six, but the Mountain Hawks put the Crusaders away for good with a mini 8-3 surge to take a 12-point, 80-68 lead following a pair of Karnik free throws with 4:37 remaining. Holy Cross got within seven down the stretch, but could never get back to within two possessions as the Mountain Hawks closed out the victory.
For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 50.0 percent from the field (31-of-62) and 45.0 percent from 3-point range. Holy Cross finished at 52.8 percent (28-of-53) and 46.7 percent from long distance (7-of-15). Led by 13 offensive rebounds (10 in the first half), Lehigh posted a 35-23 edge on the glass.
"Thirteen offensive rebounds is a great sign of energy," said Reed. "Jeameril helped set the tone. He's sitting there with four offensive rebounds, and that's pretty impressive for him to be able to get his hands on the basketball, give us some extra possessions and more opportunities to score."
Lehigh will now hit the road for two straight games, traveling to Army West Point on Saturday (1 p.m.) and Colgate next Wednesday (7 p.m.).
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
HolyCr
Lehigh
FG%
.528
.500
3FG%
.467
.450
FT%
.826
.857
RB
23
35
TO
12
11
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
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