Saturday, November 13
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
0-2,0-0Patriot
56
vs
73
NJIT
1-1,0-0America East
1
2
F
NJIT
36
37
73
Lehigh
23
33
56
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Lehigh Unable to Come Back from First-Half Deficit in Home-Opening Defeat vs. NJIT
11/13/2021 10:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After NJIT opened a 13-point halftime advantage, the Lehigh men's basketball team staged a 12-4 second-half run to pull within six, but the Mountain Hawks couldn't get any closer as they dropped their home opener, 73-56 on Saturday evening in Stabler Arena. Fifth-year senior Marques Wilson led the offense for a second straight game with 15 points while senior Jeameril Wilson added 13.
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"We struggled tonight; we didn't play a good brand of basketball," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We jumped out early, but then NJIT attacked us. We missed a couple shots and then we got on our heels. Give them credit for sticking with it, but when it's all said and done, we've got to play better."
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"We were loose with the basketball and we turned it over," said Reed. "We were two defenders committed to the ball on our drives and we turned it over. We got fancy instead of fundamental and we turned it over. We got open shots and we didn't make them. The number of good shots we had was excellent."
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The Mountain Hawks got off to a fast start. After NJIT converted its opening possession, Lehigh scored 10 of the next 13 points – five of the points coming from Jeameril Wilson – to take a 10-5 lead after an Evan Taylor floater in the paint.
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NJIT answered with a 12-3 run of its own, as a driving layup gave the Highlanders a 17-13 lead with 12:32 on the first-half clock.
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Early in the second half, NJIT opened its lead back to 14 on two occasions. An Antwuan Butler layup with 12:44 on the clock gave the Highlanders a 43-29 lead.
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NJIT responded with a major run of 17-2 to open a 64-43 lead with 4:52 on the clock, forcing a Mountain Hawks' timeout.
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"I like the way we responded and just tried to chip away in the second half," said Reed. "We were active, we were assertive, we were aggressive. We ended up getting a couple turnovers and got some easy opportunities, but we couldn't sustain it because they were in the bonus and they were shooting free throws. That changed the complexion of things.
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"We need to be able to defend without fouling," Reed continued. "Plain and simple. We've got to be able to keep the ball in front of us and do a good job there."
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NJIT's lead reached 23 before the Mountain Hawks scored eight of the final 10 points – highlighted by sophomore Jayshen Saigal's first collegiate points (a 3-pointer) – to pull Lehigh within 73-56 at the final horn.
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NJIT shot 44.0 percent from the field (22-of-50), including 60.0 percent from 3-point range (9-of-15). The Mountain Hawks held a 34-32 edge in rebounds.
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Lehigh will now hit the road for two straight, beginning on Tuesday night at Monmouth. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
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ÂGallery: (11-13-2021) Men's Basketball vs. NJIT, 11/13/21
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"We struggled tonight; we didn't play a good brand of basketball," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We jumped out early, but then NJIT attacked us. We missed a couple shots and then we got on our heels. Give them credit for sticking with it, but when it's all said and done, we've got to play better."
After turning the ball over 22 turnovers in the opener at Rutgers, the Mountain Hawks had 19 turnovers Saturday – 13 coming in the first half. Lehigh also shot just 33.3 percent from the field for the game (18-of-54) and only 20.8 percent from 3-point range (5-of-24).🎥 from tonight's home opener vs. NJIT pic.twitter.com/IcXeyy6CCf
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 14, 2021
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"We were loose with the basketball and we turned it over," said Reed. "We were two defenders committed to the ball on our drives and we turned it over. We got fancy instead of fundamental and we turned it over. We got open shots and we didn't make them. The number of good shots we had was excellent."
Â
The Mountain Hawks got off to a fast start. After NJIT converted its opening possession, Lehigh scored 10 of the next 13 points – five of the points coming from Jeameril Wilson – to take a 10-5 lead after an Evan Taylor floater in the paint.
Â
NJIT answered with a 12-3 run of its own, as a driving layup gave the Highlanders a 17-13 lead with 12:32 on the first-half clock.
The Highlanders slowly built their lead from there, reaching as high as 14 with 1:45 to go in the first. Sophomore JT Tan answered with a free throw – his first-career points, coming in his first collegiate game – to pull Lehigh within 36-23 at the half.Strong move and finish from @jeameril_wilson, who has seven.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 14, 2021
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/DojQQxAepD pic.twitter.com/3lF4JhQIL5
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Early in the second half, NJIT opened its lead back to 14 on two occasions. An Antwuan Butler layup with 12:44 on the clock gave the Highlanders a 43-29 lead.
The Mountain Hawks are bringing the defensive energy this half. What a block by Marques Wilson!
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 14, 2021
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/DojQQxAepD pic.twitter.com/Bk7z3GdW8p
From there, the Mountain Hawks chipped away. Six straight points, including the first-career points from freshman Tyler Whitney-Sidney (both coming from the free throw line), got Lehigh within 43-35. NJIT reopened a pair of 10-point advantages, but four consecutive Mountain Hawk free throws (two from both Marques Wilson and sophomore Dominic Parolin) got Lehigh within two possessions at 47-41 with 9:03 still remaining. In the end, the Mountain Hawks' run was 12-4.Making it look easy, ET. What an up-and-under finish.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 14, 2021
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/DojQQxAepD pic.twitter.com/nawafmUJyj
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NJIT responded with a major run of 17-2 to open a 64-43 lead with 4:52 on the clock, forcing a Mountain Hawks' timeout.
Â
"I like the way we responded and just tried to chip away in the second half," said Reed. "We were active, we were assertive, we were aggressive. We ended up getting a couple turnovers and got some easy opportunities, but we couldn't sustain it because they were in the bonus and they were shooting free throws. That changed the complexion of things.
Â
"We need to be able to defend without fouling," Reed continued. "Plain and simple. We've got to be able to keep the ball in front of us and do a good job there."
Â
NJIT's lead reached 23 before the Mountain Hawks scored eight of the final 10 points – highlighted by sophomore Jayshen Saigal's first collegiate points (a 3-pointer) – to pull Lehigh within 73-56 at the final horn.
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NJIT shot 44.0 percent from the field (22-of-50), including 60.0 percent from 3-point range (9-of-15). The Mountain Hawks held a 34-32 edge in rebounds.
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Lehigh will now hit the road for two straight, beginning on Tuesday night at Monmouth. Opening tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
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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
NJIT
Lehigh
FG%
.440
.333
3FG%
.600
.208
FT%
.833
.714
RB
32
34
TO
14
19
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
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