Wednesday, February 19
Hamilton, N.Y.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
7-20,4-11Patriot
67
at
70
Colgate
21-7,12-3Patriot
1
2
F
Lehigh
33
34
67
Colgate
30
40
70
Mountain Hawks put forth gutsy effort in slim 70-67 defeat at Colgate
2/20/2020 12:28:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HAMILTON, N.Y. – The Lehigh men's basketball team rebounded from an early 9-0 deficit at first-place Colgate to eventually open a 10-point second-half lead, but the Raiders responded and made just enough plays in the end to defeat the Mountain Hawks, 70-67 on Wednesday evening. The contest was delayed by nearly two hours (tipping off at 8:45 p.m.) due to a backboard being shattered in warmups. While that happened early, one of the game's biggest plays happened late. With the shot clock winding down, a long, desperation 3-pointer from Jordan Burns went down, giving the Raiders a 70-65 advantage with 27 seconds remaining.
"It was an unfortunate shot that was banked in straight ahead from pretty much the half court logo, giving them a little bit of separation," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "After the slow start, I thought our guys played really hard to get themselves back in the game. Colgate came out and was hitting on all cylinders. Our guys were able to recover. We had some small stretches when we didn't turn it over and that allowed us to get back in the game.
"Ultimately, offensively for us, we just lost too many possessions with turnovers," Reed continued. "When you have 19 turnovers, that's really going to hinder you. We had some blown defensive assignments and turnovers on some uncharacteristic play. When you give that to a good team, they were able to capitalize."
Senior Jordan Cohen finished with a team-high 18 points while also grabbing a season-high seven rebounds. He knocked down 4-of-8 3-pointers, three of which came in the second half. Junior James Karnik played his strongest game since returning from injury, posting 15 points, six rebounds and three assists while shooting 6-of-8 from the field. In the process, he eclipsed 500 career rebounds (currently 504). Sophomore Jeameril Wilson scored 11 points, nine coming in the first half, while sophomore Nic Lynch added 10. Junior Marques Wilson filled up the stat sheet with seven points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
"Our guys showed good fight," said Reed. "We showed some heart from Jordan Cohen. I thought both Nic Lynch and James Karnik really worked well together, and that's a tough load for people."
Defensively, the Mountain Hawks held the Raiders to their third lowest point total at home this season (in 12 games). Colgate improved to 11-1 at home on the year.
"I really like the way in which our defense locked in, particularly when you figure they scored 12 points in the first three or four minutes," said Reed. "We ended up getting it under control, which was really important for us."
After the Raiders' initial 9-0 run, the Mountain Hawks scored 10 of the next 13 points – capped off by a Jeameril Wilson 3-point play and Cohen trey – to pull within 12-10 just five minutes in.
Colgate responded to take a 23-13 advantage and later 28-20 with 6:44 on the clock. That's when Lehigh's defense bore down, not allowing a Raiders' point for 6:29 and only two over the final 6:44. In the mean time, the Mountain Hawks used a 13-0 run to take a five-point advantage. A Karnik 3-point play evened the score at 28 with 4:04 remaining, then Cohen added four of Lehigh's next five points for the 33-30 halftime lead.
The Mountain Hawks remained in front for the early stages of the second half, with their lead hovering between two and eight over the first nine minutes. Lehigh's big men of Lynch and Karnik combined for the team's first six second-half points, finishing with 15 second-half points between the two of them.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman Reed Fenton and Cohen gave the Mountain Hawks their first double-figure lead at 54-44 with 10:56 remaining.
From there, Colgate scored 16 of the next 22 points, as two Jordan Burns free throws evened the score at 60 with 5:58 remaining. No team was up by more than one possession until a Will Rayman trey gave the Raiders a 67-63 lead with 2:27 on the clock. Jeameril Wilson responded on the next possession to pull within 67-65, but that set the stage for Burns' shot. The Mountain Hawks hung tough and had a chance to tie as the game clock was winding down, but Cohen was forced into a tough 3-pointer that wouldn't go.
For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 51.9 percent from the field (27-of-52), including 38.9 percent from 3-point range (7-of-18). Colgate finished at 44.1 percent (26-of-59) and 29.6 percent from long distance (8-of-27). Lehigh held a 39-27 edge on the glass, but 19 turnovers hurt. The Raiders finished with just 10.
The Mountain Hawks return to Stabler Arena for their final two home games of the season. Lehigh hosts Bucknell on Sunday (12 p.m.) on Senior Day before hosting Boston University on Wednesday (7 p.m.). To purchase tickets to either game, please click here.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Gallery: (2/20/2020) Men's Basketball at Colgate, 2/19/20
"It was an unfortunate shot that was banked in straight ahead from pretty much the half court logo, giving them a little bit of separation," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "After the slow start, I thought our guys played really hard to get themselves back in the game. Colgate came out and was hitting on all cylinders. Our guys were able to recover. We had some small stretches when we didn't turn it over and that allowed us to get back in the game.
"Ultimately, offensively for us, we just lost too many possessions with turnovers," Reed continued. "When you have 19 turnovers, that's really going to hinder you. We had some blown defensive assignments and turnovers on some uncharacteristic play. When you give that to a good team, they were able to capitalize."
Senior Jordan Cohen finished with a team-high 18 points while also grabbing a season-high seven rebounds. He knocked down 4-of-8 3-pointers, three of which came in the second half. Junior James Karnik played his strongest game since returning from injury, posting 15 points, six rebounds and three assists while shooting 6-of-8 from the field. In the process, he eclipsed 500 career rebounds (currently 504). Sophomore Jeameril Wilson scored 11 points, nine coming in the first half, while sophomore Nic Lynch added 10. Junior Marques Wilson filled up the stat sheet with seven points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
"Our guys showed good fight," said Reed. "We showed some heart from Jordan Cohen. I thought both Nic Lynch and James Karnik really worked well together, and that's a tough load for people."
Big man to big man! Karnik to Lynch for two. Mountain Hawks currently trail 26-17 at the under-8 media timeout. Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3 pic.twitter.com/WoBAVSGPvX
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 20, 2020
Defensively, the Mountain Hawks held the Raiders to their third lowest point total at home this season (in 12 games). Colgate improved to 11-1 at home on the year.
WHAT DEFENSE!!! Mountain Hawks are bearing down and the Raiders remain stuck on 28 points.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 20, 2020
Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3 pic.twitter.com/6UXgZY2NgE
"I really like the way in which our defense locked in, particularly when you figure they scored 12 points in the first three or four minutes," said Reed. "We ended up getting it under control, which was really important for us."
After the Raiders' initial 9-0 run, the Mountain Hawks scored 10 of the next 13 points – capped off by a Jeameril Wilson 3-point play and Cohen trey – to pull within 12-10 just five minutes in.
Colgate responded to take a 23-13 advantage and later 28-20 with 6:44 on the clock. That's when Lehigh's defense bore down, not allowing a Raiders' point for 6:29 and only two over the final 6:44. In the mean time, the Mountain Hawks used a 13-0 run to take a five-point advantage. A Karnik 3-point play evened the score at 28 with 4:04 remaining, then Cohen added four of Lehigh's next five points for the 33-30 halftime lead.
Mountain Hawks on an 8-0 run!! @james_karnik with the 💪🏼 move and finish for the 3-point play to tie us up 28-28 at our final first-half media timeout. pic.twitter.com/FfUnMFAUs1
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 20, 2020
Jordan Cohen fights through the contact for two! It's a 13-0 Lehigh run and the Mountain Hawks lead by five! Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3 pic.twitter.com/lJ6CbTubFJ
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 20, 2020
The Mountain Hawks remained in front for the early stages of the second half, with their lead hovering between two and eight over the first nine minutes. Lehigh's big men of Lynch and Karnik combined for the team's first six second-half points, finishing with 15 second-half points between the two of them.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman Reed Fenton and Cohen gave the Mountain Hawks their first double-figure lead at 54-44 with 10:56 remaining.
Jordan Cohen, from WAY down town! His fourth trey of the game and third this half! Watch: https://t.co/WUw3LKqhd3 pic.twitter.com/ePDoQHbB9b
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 20, 2020
From there, Colgate scored 16 of the next 22 points, as two Jordan Burns free throws evened the score at 60 with 5:58 remaining. No team was up by more than one possession until a Will Rayman trey gave the Raiders a 67-63 lead with 2:27 on the clock. Jeameril Wilson responded on the next possession to pull within 67-65, but that set the stage for Burns' shot. The Mountain Hawks hung tough and had a chance to tie as the game clock was winding down, but Cohen was forced into a tough 3-pointer that wouldn't go.
For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 51.9 percent from the field (27-of-52), including 38.9 percent from 3-point range (7-of-18). Colgate finished at 44.1 percent (26-of-59) and 29.6 percent from long distance (8-of-27). Lehigh held a 39-27 edge on the glass, but 19 turnovers hurt. The Raiders finished with just 10.
The Mountain Hawks return to Stabler Arena for their final two home games of the season. Lehigh hosts Bucknell on Sunday (12 p.m.) on Senior Day before hosting Boston University on Wednesday (7 p.m.). To purchase tickets to either game, 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
Colg
FG%
.519
.441
3FG%
.389
.296
FT%
.429
.625
RB
39
27
TO
19
10
STL
3
9
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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