Friday, November 19
North Andover, Mass.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
0-4,0-0Patriot
45
at
55
Merrimack
3-2,0-0NEC
1
2
F
Lehigh
22
23
45
Merrimack
22
33
55
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Merrimack Pulls Away Late in Second Half, 55-45
11/19/2021 10:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Junior Evan Taylor and senior Jeameril Wilson combined for 29 points and 18 rebounds, but 19 turnovers hurt the Lehigh men's basketball team as Merrimack ended the game on a 17-8 run to pull away, 55-45 on Friday night in front crowd of 3,000 fans at Lawler Arena. Taylor finished with 17 points to tie a career high, 13 coming in the second half. Wilson scored all 12 of his points in the first half.
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"Our kids battled and they played really hard, but we weren't able to convert in key stretches," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We had some opportunities that we weren't able to knock down while they were making a little bit of a run. Some of the mid-range, even pull-ups that were good looks didn't fall. But ultimately, the biggest difference in the game was the way in which we turned the basketball over. When you look at the turnover differential of 19 to six in a game which had that type of pace, you cannot throw away possessions."
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Merrimack features a unique defensive style that has been effective against nearly every opponent, including holding Rutgers out of the Big Ten to just 48 points.
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"I expected from watching them hold Rutgers to a very low score, hold all their opponents to very low scores, that it was going to be that type of game," said Reed. "We ended up getting some putbacks with rebounds and extra possessions that gave us some other opportunities."
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Lehigh jumped out to an early 12-4 lead, with Wilson accounting for six of them. But after 12 points over the game's first 6:58, the Mountain Hawks had just 10 over the final 13:02 of the first half.
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For the game, Lehigh shot 34.0 percent from the field (17-of-50) and 30.0 percent from 3-point range (3-of-10). Merrimack finished at 35.7 percent (20-of-56) and 38.9 percent from behind the arc (7-of-18). The Mountain Hawks held a 43-30 edge in rebounds.
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"Turnovers have been something we've talked about, but we're not necessarily getting better at it yet," said Reed. "I would say in a lot of the other facets of the game, we are improving and I can see that, but in order to come in here in this environment – Merrimack did a great job, there was unbelievable energy and it was a fun college basketball environment – we came up empty because of the turnovers. We outrebounded them, we played good positional defense.
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"Unfortunately, we had too few possessions and failed to convert."
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The Mountain Hawks will return home on Tuesday to host Columbia at 7 p.m. Tickets are now available and can be purchased online by clicking here.
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Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
ÂGallery: (11-19-2021) Men's Basketball at Merrimack, 11/19/21
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"Our kids battled and they played really hard, but we weren't able to convert in key stretches," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We had some opportunities that we weren't able to knock down while they were making a little bit of a run. Some of the mid-range, even pull-ups that were good looks didn't fall. But ultimately, the biggest difference in the game was the way in which we turned the basketball over. When you look at the turnover differential of 19 to six in a game which had that type of pace, you cannot throw away possessions."
Â
Merrimack features a unique defensive style that has been effective against nearly every opponent, including holding Rutgers out of the Big Ten to just 48 points.
Â
"I expected from watching them hold Rutgers to a very low score, hold all their opponents to very low scores, that it was going to be that type of game," said Reed. "We ended up getting some putbacks with rebounds and extra possessions that gave us some other opportunities."
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Taylor had 11 points in the first 7:09 of the second half to help keep the Mountain Hawks within striking distance. Both Taylor and Wilson grabbed nine rebounds for the game, each barely missing a double-double. Sophomore Dominic Parolin tallied 12 boards.Friday night highlights đź“ą pic.twitter.com/NRYPwRdGrj
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 20, 2021
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Lehigh jumped out to an early 12-4 lead, with Wilson accounting for six of them. But after 12 points over the game's first 6:58, the Mountain Hawks had just 10 over the final 13:02 of the first half.
Merrimack chipped away, eventually taking its first lead as a Mykel Derring 3-pointer made it 16-14 Warriors with 6:02 left in the first half. In the end, Lehigh was held scoreless for a stretch of 6:40, snapped by a Wilson layup. But because of the Mountain Hawks' strong defense, that layup pulled them even at 16. The teams went into halftime tied at 22.Jeameril is picking up where he left off at Monmouth. He has six early points to put the Mountain Hawks ahead 8-2 early.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 20, 2021
Watch: https://t.co/XSDhJh8CPk pic.twitter.com/AEjKBdwKA9
Early in the second half, Merrimack used an 8-0 run to take a 35-27 lead just under five minutes in, but Taylor almost single-handedly kept the Mountain Hawks in it. The junior scored eight points in just 2:06 – via two 3-pointers and a fastbreak layup – to get Lehigh back within two at 37-35 with 12:51 on the clock.What a find, from Tyler to Jeameril. He's up to 10 and the Mountain Hawks retake the lead.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 20, 2021
Watch: https://t.co/XSDhJh8CPk pic.twitter.com/yDWOVdgdjR
Two Nic Lynch free throws pulled the Mountain Hawks within one at 38-37 with 11:31 remaining. However, less than a minute later, Merrimack had gone on a 5-0 surge and Lehigh wouldn't get the deficit less than two possessions the rest of the way. A Marques Wilson jumper pulled Lehigh within 50-45 with 3:46 on the clock, but the Mountain Hawks were held scoreless the rest of the way.It's been the Evan Taylor show... Wow! !1 points in the first 7+ minutes of the second half to keep the Mountain Hawks right in this one.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 20, 2021
Watch: https://t.co/XSDhJh8CPk pic.twitter.com/GssWmvMNXK
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For the game, Lehigh shot 34.0 percent from the field (17-of-50) and 30.0 percent from 3-point range (3-of-10). Merrimack finished at 35.7 percent (20-of-56) and 38.9 percent from behind the arc (7-of-18). The Mountain Hawks held a 43-30 edge in rebounds.
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"Turnovers have been something we've talked about, but we're not necessarily getting better at it yet," said Reed. "I would say in a lot of the other facets of the game, we are improving and I can see that, but in order to come in here in this environment – Merrimack did a great job, there was unbelievable energy and it was a fun college basketball environment – we came up empty because of the turnovers. We outrebounded them, we played good positional defense.
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"Unfortunately, we had too few possessions and failed to convert."
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The Mountain Hawks will return home on Tuesday to host Columbia at 7 p.m. Tickets are now available and can be purchased online by clicking here.
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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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Head coach @BrettReed following tonight's contest at Merrimack pic.twitter.com/ckwOIUtUAU
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 20, 2021
Team Stats
Lehigh
Merri
FG%
.340
.357
3FG%
.300
.389
FT%
.889
.615
RB
43
30
TO
19
6
STL
1
10
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
4
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
4
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F/C
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