Sunday, January 10
Annapolis, Md.
3 p.m.
Lehigh University
1-3, 1-3PL
58
at
73
Navy
7-1, 4-0PL
1
2
F
Lehigh
35
23
58
Navy
35
38
73
Rebounding Margin Proves Key Difference in Lehigh’s 73-58 Defeat at Navy
1/10/2021 5:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The first 30+ minutes of Sunday's contest were extremely tight, with neither team leading by more than six, but Navy went on a 21-6 second-half run to turn a one-point Lehigh advantage into a 14-point Mids' lead, on the way to the 73-58 final in Alumni Hall. Lehigh (1-3, 1-1 Central) was led offensively by senior Marques Wilson, who had 19 points, four rebounds and three assists. Ultimately, the Midshipmen held a 41-18 edge in rebounds, which gave Navy a 17-4 edge in second-chance points.
"We couldn't get the ball to end their possessions," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "The discrepancy in rebounding was incredible. We're never going to be able to overcome a team that essentially had almost as many offensive rebounds (14) as we had total rebounds (18)."
Along with Wilson's 19 points, junior Nic Lynch recorded 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting, to go with seven rebounds. Sophomore Reed Fenton was strong, scoring eight points on 4-of-8 shooting while taking two charges on the other end of the floor.
The Mountain Hawks jumped out to an early lead, with Fenton scoring six of Lehigh's first 15 points. His jumper with 12:18 on the clock gave the Mountain Hawks a 15-9 edge.
It took less than three minutes for Navy to respond with a 10-0 run of its own, but the Mids' advantage never reached higher than six. A 7-0 Lehigh surge – featuring two Lynch baskets, with a Jake Betlow 3-pointer sandwiched in between – gave the Mountain Hawks the lead back at 26-25.
The teams traded leads over the next few minutes before a Jalin Sinclair drive and finish, with just two seconds left in the first half, sent the teams into halftime tied at 35.
Trailing 41-37 early in the second half, Lehigh staged another 7-0 run. Marques Wilson began it with a jumper, followed by a Jeameril Wilson 3-pointer. On the ensuing possession, Fenton played strong defense against Cam Davis then finished a fastbreak layup on the other end following a great look from Sinclair. That gave Lehigh a 44-41 advantage.
The run extended to 9-0 behind another Marques Wilson layup with 15:08 remaining, but Navy immediately responded with a 6-0 surge to retake the lead. After trading leads around the midway point of the second half, the Mountain Hawks' offense went cold, scoring just eight points over the game's final 9:23.
"We ended up speeding up a little bit more than we needed to," said Reed. "We've had some reliable interior scoring and we shot it a little quicker and got away from some of the things that were really good for us.
"Some of the looks we got were fine, but we didn't convert," Reed continued. "That, combined with not being able to end a possession with a rebound, all of a sudden became a situation where we were playing catchup. From what was a very, very competitive game, it turned into something that wasn't as competitive towards the end. It was the turning of the tide – primarily because of the battle of will on the boards."
After shooting 60.0 percent from the field in the first half, Lehigh shot only 35.7 percent in the second to finish at 47.2 percent for the game (25-of-53). Navy shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point range (9-of-21). The Mountain Hawks were 25.0 percent (3-of-12) from long distance.
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"We couldn't get the ball to end their possessions," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "The discrepancy in rebounding was incredible. We're never going to be able to overcome a team that essentially had almost as many offensive rebounds (14) as we had total rebounds (18)."
Along with Wilson's 19 points, junior Nic Lynch recorded 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting, to go with seven rebounds. Sophomore Reed Fenton was strong, scoring eight points on 4-of-8 shooting while taking two charges on the other end of the floor.
The Mountain Hawks jumped out to an early lead, with Fenton scoring six of Lehigh's first 15 points. His jumper with 12:18 on the clock gave the Mountain Hawks a 15-9 edge.
.@reed_fenton is up to a team-high six points so far, none prettier than this move and finish.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 10, 2021
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/IiRPuTxr8X pic.twitter.com/Ph4fFXxA0w
It took less than three minutes for Navy to respond with a 10-0 run of its own, but the Mids' advantage never reached higher than six. A 7-0 Lehigh surge – featuring two Lynch baskets, with a Jake Betlow 3-pointer sandwiched in between – gave the Mountain Hawks the lead back at 26-25.
The teams traded leads over the next few minutes before a Jalin Sinclair drive and finish, with just two seconds left in the first half, sent the teams into halftime tied at 35.
.@WME_Sinclair has been playing more like a seasoned veteran than a rookie. Impressive driving layup is what pulled us even at the break.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 10, 2021
Watch the second half on ESPN+ https://t.co/IiRPuTxr8X pic.twitter.com/311ezd8fWx
Trailing 41-37 early in the second half, Lehigh staged another 7-0 run. Marques Wilson began it with a jumper, followed by a Jeameril Wilson 3-pointer. On the ensuing possession, Fenton played strong defense against Cam Davis then finished a fastbreak layup on the other end following a great look from Sinclair. That gave Lehigh a 44-41 advantage.
From defense to offense in a flash! Great D by @reed_fenton and what a find by @WME_Sinclair. It's a 7-0 Lehigh run to take a 3-point lead at the first media timeout of the second half.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 10, 2021
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/IiRPuTxr8X pic.twitter.com/d1nueR7oQE
The run extended to 9-0 behind another Marques Wilson layup with 15:08 remaining, but Navy immediately responded with a 6-0 surge to retake the lead. After trading leads around the midway point of the second half, the Mountain Hawks' offense went cold, scoring just eight points over the game's final 9:23.
"We ended up speeding up a little bit more than we needed to," said Reed. "We've had some reliable interior scoring and we shot it a little quicker and got away from some of the things that were really good for us.
"Some of the looks we got were fine, but we didn't convert," Reed continued. "That, combined with not being able to end a possession with a rebound, all of a sudden became a situation where we were playing catchup. From what was a very, very competitive game, it turned into something that wasn't as competitive towards the end. It was the turning of the tide – primarily because of the battle of will on the boards."
After shooting 60.0 percent from the field in the first half, Lehigh shot only 35.7 percent in the second to finish at 47.2 percent for the game (25-of-53). Navy shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point range (9-of-21). The Mountain Hawks were 25.0 percent (3-of-12) from long distance.
Lehigh will return to action next weekend with a pair against Bucknell, traveling to Lewisburg on Saturday (2 p.m.) before hosting the Bison on Sunday (4 p.m.).Time to regroup and look ahead to Bucknell next weekend, but before we do that, check out a few highlights from today's contest at Navy. pic.twitter.com/iJfX6kHI9Z
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 11, 2021
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
NAVY
FG%
.472
.491
3FG%
.250
.429
FT%
.625
.706
RB
18
41
TO
9
15
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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