Sunday, January 3
Easton, Pa.
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
1-1,1-1Patriot
70
at
82
Lafayette
1-1,1-1Patriot
1
2
F
Lehigh
40
30
70
Lafayette
44
38
82
Leopards Pull Away From Mountain Hawks Late
1/3/2021 8:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EASTON, Pa. – The Lehigh men's basketball team scored the game's first 10 points and opened a 16-2 lead, but Lafayette used a 27-8 surge to open a five-point advantage, on the way to downing the Mountain Hawks, 82-70 on Sunday afternoon at the Kirby Sports Center. The Leopards led for the game's final 26:33, but Lehigh got as close as one on multiple occasions in the second half. Ultimately, a late 15-2 run helped Lafayette pull away for the weekend split.
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"Unfortunately, today we didn't do as strong of a job defending the 3-point line against Lafayette and allowed them to play more to their strengths," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Ultimately, it was one of the major differences in the game. Early on, we built a lead because we were shooting the ball pretty well, but then threes from Perry, O'Boyle and Jaworski started to shrink our lead very quickly."
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The Leopards finished 12-of-29 from 3-point range, led by Justin Jaworski's 5 treys and 28 points.
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Junior Nic Lynch had 20+ points for a second straight game to begin the season, finishing with exactly 20 on 10-of-16 shooting. One day after his late-game heroics, senior Marques Wilson had another strong performance with 18 points and a career-high five steals.
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"Nic has been a great anchor for us," said Reed. "He has the ability to score. He helped us not only scoring with his back to the basket, but also some of those catch-and-shoot shots away from the basket were really important and really made a big difference. He's worked very hard to develop that part of his game to complement his back to the basket.
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Sophomore Jake Betlow helped spark the early 10-0 run with consecutive 3-pointers. Betlow later added a pair of free throws, while Lynch and Wilson also scored four of Lehigh's first 16 points.
The Leopards chipped away at Lehigh's 16-2 lead. Eventually, a pair of Jaworski free throws with 6:33 left in the first half gave his team the lead for good.
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Lafayette's biggest first-half advantage reached eight, but the Mountain Hawks wouldn't back down. Lehigh scored six of the final eight first-half points to pull within 44-40 at the break. Marques Wilson scored Lehigh's final eight points of the stanza, all coming in the final 1:45.
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Three times, the Mountain Hawks got as close as one. First, junior Jeameril Wilson knocked down a 3-pointer to open the second-half scoring. Later, a 5-0 surge – including an Evan Taylor trey followed by two Dominic Parolin free throws – pulled Lehigh within 59-58 with 10:01 remaining.
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Not long after, Parolin knocked down four straight from the charity stripe to pull within 63-62 with 7:21 on the clock.
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However, the Leopards slowly increased its lead from there. Lehigh's offense went cold, scoring just two points over the next 4:37. By then, the Mountain Hawks were down double figures, which proved too much to overcome.
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For the game, Lehigh shot 45.8 percent from the field (27-of-59), including 36.4 percent from 3-point range (4-of-11). Lafayette finished at 47.4 percent (27-of-57) and 41.4 percent from long distance (12-of-29). The Leopards held a slim 33-31 edge in rebounds.
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After their first two games of the season, the Mountain Hawks return to action next weekend, hosting American on Saturday (Jan. 9) before traveling to American on Sunday (Jan. 10).
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Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
ÂGallery: (1-3-2021) Men's Basketball at Lafayette, 1/3/21
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"Unfortunately, today we didn't do as strong of a job defending the 3-point line against Lafayette and allowed them to play more to their strengths," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Ultimately, it was one of the major differences in the game. Early on, we built a lead because we were shooting the ball pretty well, but then threes from Perry, O'Boyle and Jaworski started to shrink our lead very quickly."
Â
The Leopards finished 12-of-29 from 3-point range, led by Justin Jaworski's 5 treys and 28 points.
Â
Junior Nic Lynch had 20+ points for a second straight game to begin the season, finishing with exactly 20 on 10-of-16 shooting. One day after his late-game heroics, senior Marques Wilson had another strong performance with 18 points and a career-high five steals.
Â
"Nic has been a great anchor for us," said Reed. "He has the ability to score. He helped us not only scoring with his back to the basket, but also some of those catch-and-shoot shots away from the basket were really important and really made a big difference. He's worked very hard to develop that part of his game to complement his back to the basket.
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Sophomore Jake Betlow helped spark the early 10-0 run with consecutive 3-pointers. Betlow later added a pair of free throws, while Lynch and Wilson also scored four of Lehigh's first 16 points.
ÂHow 'bout that start?! @jake_betlow knocks down consecutive 3-pointers to give an early 10-0 lead! Watch on @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/K55hVvlmK6
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 3, 2021
The Leopards chipped away at Lehigh's 16-2 lead. Eventually, a pair of Jaworski free throws with 6:33 left in the first half gave his team the lead for good.
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Lafayette's biggest first-half advantage reached eight, but the Mountain Hawks wouldn't back down. Lehigh scored six of the final eight first-half points to pull within 44-40 at the break. Marques Wilson scored Lehigh's final eight points of the stanza, all coming in the final 1:45.
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Three times, the Mountain Hawks got as close as one. First, junior Jeameril Wilson knocked down a 3-pointer to open the second-half scoring. Later, a 5-0 surge – including an Evan Taylor trey followed by two Dominic Parolin free throws – pulled Lehigh within 59-58 with 10:01 remaining.
Â
Not long after, Parolin knocked down four straight from the charity stripe to pull within 63-62 with 7:21 on the clock.
Â
However, the Leopards slowly increased its lead from there. Lehigh's offense went cold, scoring just two points over the next 4:37. By then, the Mountain Hawks were down double figures, which proved too much to overcome.
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For the game, Lehigh shot 45.8 percent from the field (27-of-59), including 36.4 percent from 3-point range (4-of-11). Lafayette finished at 47.4 percent (27-of-57) and 41.4 percent from long distance (12-of-29). The Leopards held a slim 33-31 edge in rebounds.
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After their first two games of the season, the Mountain Hawks return to action next weekend, hosting American on Saturday (Jan. 9) before traveling to American on Sunday (Jan. 10).
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Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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Team Stats
Lehigh
Laf
FG%
.458
.474
3FG%
.364
.414
FT%
.800
1.000
RB
31
33
TO
11
12
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
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