Saturday, January 9
Bethlehem, Pa.
2 p.m.
Lehigh University
1-2,1-2Patriot
61
vs
69
Navy
6-1,3-0Patriot
1
2
F
Navy
34
35
69
Lehigh
27
34
61
Navy Proves Too Much, Downing Mountain Hawks 69-61
1/9/2021 5:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Junior Nic Lynch led the offense again with 17 points while freshman Jalin Sinclair tallied 14 points and five assists, but Navy used a 13-2 run to turn a 45-45 deadlock into a 58-47 lead, on the way to downing the Lehigh men's basketball team, 69-61 on Saturday afternoon in Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks (1-2, 1-1 Central) began the second half on an 8-0 run to take a one-point lead, but four Midshipmen finished with double-figure points, which proved too much to overcome.
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Despite shooting 56.3 percent from the field, Lehigh's 16 turnovers, and 25 fouls were two big differences. Navy knocked down 19-of-26 from the free throw line while Lehigh was 4-of-9.
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"When you look overall at our shooting percentage, we were able to get the looks that we wanted and we converted," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Ultimately, the story of the game in the first half was our turnovers and the fact that we lost so many possessions. It put us in a hole, but we fought and came back in the second half.
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"There were two major factors in the second half that affected us and most of them came at critical times… that was fouling," Reed continued. "We closed it to one and they ended up going to the line and converting over and over again. It was a little bit self-imposed where we had some opportunities to play more solidly and not put them at the line. They also converted on offensive put backs."
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Sincalir's 14 points came on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line.
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"I thought it was a very good display by him as a young player," said Reed. "We were experiencing a team (Navy) that was putting a lot of pressure out on the perimeter. We decided to put the ball in Jalin's hands and have him make more decisions. He answered the call. He had some very nice passes; I thought he got to some floor spots and even if it didn't lead to a direct assist, he ended up kicking the ball out to people, which just allowed us to loosen Navy's defense."
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Out of Lynch's 17 points, six came consecutively early in the second as part of Lehigh's 8-0 surge coming out of the locker room (the run was 10-0 bridging the end of the first half).
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A tight beginning saw Navy jump out to early eight-point leads of 12-4 and 16-8. A Sinclair 3-pointer pulled Lehigh back within 18-17 with 9:35 left in the stanza, but a few minutes later, the Mids used a mini 6-0 surge to reopen a 28-21 advantage. The margin reached nine in the final minute, but a Lynch dunk off a pretty feed from Sinclair pulled Lehigh within 34-27 at the break.
Sinclair opened the second half with a jumper just over a minute in, then Lynch scored the next six as a jumper of his own with 16:15 on the clock gave Lehigh a 35-34 lead.
The ensuing minutes saw a competitive back-and-forth contest. A Jeameril Wilson driving layup pulled Lehigh even at 45 with 10:43 remaining, but Lehigh scored just two points over the ensuing 4:54 and Navy took advantage with a 13-2 run to open a 58-47 edge.
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The margin reached 12, but Lehigh wouldn't quit. A Marques Wilson basket pulled the Mountain Hawks within 63-57 with 1:18 remaining, but that's as close as they would come.
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For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 56.3 percent from the field (27-of-48) and 30.0 percent from 3-point range (3-of-10). Navy finished at 46.0 percent (23-of-50) and 40.0 percent from long distance (4-of-10). The Mids held a 30-25 edge in rebounds.
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Lehigh and Navy will rematch on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Annapolis on ESPN+.
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Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.Gallery: (1-9-2021) Men's Basketball vs. Navy, 1/9/21
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Despite shooting 56.3 percent from the field, Lehigh's 16 turnovers, and 25 fouls were two big differences. Navy knocked down 19-of-26 from the free throw line while Lehigh was 4-of-9.
Â
"When you look overall at our shooting percentage, we were able to get the looks that we wanted and we converted," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "Ultimately, the story of the game in the first half was our turnovers and the fact that we lost so many possessions. It put us in a hole, but we fought and came back in the second half.
Â
"There were two major factors in the second half that affected us and most of them came at critical times… that was fouling," Reed continued. "We closed it to one and they ended up going to the line and converting over and over again. It was a little bit self-imposed where we had some opportunities to play more solidly and not put them at the line. They also converted on offensive put backs."
Â
Sincalir's 14 points came on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line.
Â
"I thought it was a very good display by him as a young player," said Reed. "We were experiencing a team (Navy) that was putting a lot of pressure out on the perimeter. We decided to put the ball in Jalin's hands and have him make more decisions. He answered the call. He had some very nice passes; I thought he got to some floor spots and even if it didn't lead to a direct assist, he ended up kicking the ball out to people, which just allowed us to loosen Navy's defense."
Â
Out of Lynch's 17 points, six came consecutively early in the second as part of Lehigh's 8-0 surge coming out of the locker room (the run was 10-0 bridging the end of the first half).
Â
A tight beginning saw Navy jump out to early eight-point leads of 12-4 and 16-8. A Sinclair 3-pointer pulled Lehigh back within 18-17 with 9:35 left in the stanza, but a few minutes later, the Mids used a mini 6-0 surge to reopen a 28-21 advantage. The margin reached nine in the final minute, but a Lynch dunk off a pretty feed from Sinclair pulled Lehigh within 34-27 at the break.
ÂWhat vision from @WME_Sinclair 👀 for the @Niclynch44 slam 💪
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 9, 2021
Watch the second half on ESPN+ https://t.co/4xP1Cx06Aq pic.twitter.com/Ud0FpLwItA
Sinclair opened the second half with a jumper just over a minute in, then Lynch scored the next six as a jumper of his own with 16:15 on the clock gave Lehigh a 35-34 lead.
ÂPlay great defense on one end, get rewarded on the other. @Niclynch44 is doing it all (and another GREAT look from @WME_Sinclair as well).
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 9, 2021
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/4xP1Cx06Aq pic.twitter.com/iQaGinn9Xf
The ensuing minutes saw a competitive back-and-forth contest. A Jeameril Wilson driving layup pulled Lehigh even at 45 with 10:43 remaining, but Lehigh scored just two points over the ensuing 4:54 and Navy took advantage with a 13-2 run to open a 58-47 edge.
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The margin reached 12, but Lehigh wouldn't quit. A Marques Wilson basket pulled the Mountain Hawks within 63-57 with 1:18 remaining, but that's as close as they would come.
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For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 56.3 percent from the field (27-of-48) and 30.0 percent from 3-point range (3-of-10). Navy finished at 46.0 percent (23-of-50) and 40.0 percent from long distance (4-of-10). The Mids held a 30-25 edge in rebounds.
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Lehigh and Navy will rematch on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Annapolis on ESPN+.
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Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Â📹Some highlights from today's defeat vs. Navy. Looking to get back on track tomorrow in a rematch in Annapolis. pic.twitter.com/KD0yEjJoE0
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 9, 2021
Team Stats
Navy
Lehigh
FG%
.460
.563
3FG%
.400
.300
FT%
.731
.444
RB
30
25
TO
11
16
STL
12
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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