Wednesday, March 3
Boston, Mass.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Boston University (First Round)
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks, Terriers Square Off in PLT Wednesday Night
3/2/2021 8:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following a pair of close defeats against archrival Lafayette last weekend, the Lehigh men's basketball team shifts focus to the Patriot League Tournament as the Mountain Hawks travel to Boston University to face the Terriers. Opening tipoff for the first-round matchup is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+. The winner of Wednesday's showdown will travel to second-seeded Colgate for Saturday's quarterfinals.
Lehigh came ever so close to capturing a home game on Wednesday. The Mountain Hawks dropped a pair of tight finals to the Leopards, which came down to the final seconds. First on Saturday, Lehigh only led briefly in the first half, but fought back to within two in the final minute of regulation with a chance to tie or take a lead, before ultimately falling 75-69. Sunday, the Mountain Hawks erased a 12-point first-half deficit to take multiple second-half leads. Ultimately, a Justin Jaworski bank shot with 19 seconds remaining gave Lafayette the lead back. Lehigh had three shots in the final seconds, two of which were desperation attempts, and none fell as the Mountain Hawks lost, 71-70.
Senior Marques Wilson and junior Nic Lynch each scored 22 points to lead the offense Saturday while a day later, freshman Ben Li scored a team-high 13 points (which tied a career high) in just 13 minutes, knocking down 5-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Li has now made six of his last 11 from behind the arc. One day after grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds, sophomore Evan Taylor scored 12 points via a career-high four 3-pointers (on just five attempts). Taylor knocked down a pair of treys in the final minute of the first half to cut Lehigh's deficit in half (from 12 to six). He is currently tied for fourth in the Patriot League in rebounding (7.6). On his Senior Night, Wilson also chipped in with 11 points. Sophomore Reed Fenton led the team in rebounds, collecting a career-high eight boards. In the end, all four games against Lafayette in the regular season were extremely competitive deep into the second half.
The Mountain Hawks now look ahead to the Patriot League Tournament and the quest for a championship and NCAA Tournament berth. A tough challenge stands in the way in round one. Lehigh was the last team to hand BU a defeat last season prior to its run to the tournament title. The Terriers have been up-and-down this season, and currently stand 6-10 overall (4-10 against the North). Wednesday will be the first meeting between the two sides.
The defending Patriot League Champion Terriers are in the midst of an up-and-down campaign. Boston University stands 6-10 as the No. 7 seed in the league tournament. The highlight of the Terriers' regular season was a 2-0 weekend at eventual No. 3 seed Lafayette. BU features a pair of All-League performers in second teamer Javante McCoy (15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds) and third teamer Walter Whyte (13.2 points, 6.8 rebounds). Sukhmail Mathon is also averaging double-figure points (10.8 points) to go with a team-leading 7.9 rebounds per contest.
Lehigh has won three of the last four and five of the last seven against Boston University to pull within 9-8 in the all-time series. In the last meeting, the Mountain Hawks picked up a hard-fought 57-55 overtime win over the Terriers last February, handing Boston University what proved to be its final defeat of the season. The year prior, the Mountain Hawks won both meetings against the Terriers for the first time since they joined the Patriot League for the 2013-14 campaign. The teams have played in two of the last four Patriot League Tournaments (2017 and 2018). Boston U. won the first-ever meeting between the two sides in 1968-69 by an 81-56 final. It marked the only meeting between the two schools before the Patriot League era
If the Mountain Hawks win on Wednesday, they would travel to second-seeded Colgate on Saturday for the Patriot League Quarterfinals.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Lehigh came ever so close to capturing a home game on Wednesday. The Mountain Hawks dropped a pair of tight finals to the Leopards, which came down to the final seconds. First on Saturday, Lehigh only led briefly in the first half, but fought back to within two in the final minute of regulation with a chance to tie or take a lead, before ultimately falling 75-69. Sunday, the Mountain Hawks erased a 12-point first-half deficit to take multiple second-half leads. Ultimately, a Justin Jaworski bank shot with 19 seconds remaining gave Lafayette the lead back. Lehigh had three shots in the final seconds, two of which were desperation attempts, and none fell as the Mountain Hawks lost, 71-70.
Senior Marques Wilson and junior Nic Lynch each scored 22 points to lead the offense Saturday while a day later, freshman Ben Li scored a team-high 13 points (which tied a career high) in just 13 minutes, knocking down 5-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Li has now made six of his last 11 from behind the arc. One day after grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds, sophomore Evan Taylor scored 12 points via a career-high four 3-pointers (on just five attempts). Taylor knocked down a pair of treys in the final minute of the first half to cut Lehigh's deficit in half (from 12 to six). He is currently tied for fourth in the Patriot League in rebounding (7.6). On his Senior Night, Wilson also chipped in with 11 points. Sophomore Reed Fenton led the team in rebounds, collecting a career-high eight boards. In the end, all four games against Lafayette in the regular season were extremely competitive deep into the second half.
The Mountain Hawks now look ahead to the Patriot League Tournament and the quest for a championship and NCAA Tournament berth. A tough challenge stands in the way in round one. Lehigh was the last team to hand BU a defeat last season prior to its run to the tournament title. The Terriers have been up-and-down this season, and currently stand 6-10 overall (4-10 against the North). Wednesday will be the first meeting between the two sides.
The defending Patriot League Champion Terriers are in the midst of an up-and-down campaign. Boston University stands 6-10 as the No. 7 seed in the league tournament. The highlight of the Terriers' regular season was a 2-0 weekend at eventual No. 3 seed Lafayette. BU features a pair of All-League performers in second teamer Javante McCoy (15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds) and third teamer Walter Whyte (13.2 points, 6.8 rebounds). Sukhmail Mathon is also averaging double-figure points (10.8 points) to go with a team-leading 7.9 rebounds per contest.
Lehigh has won three of the last four and five of the last seven against Boston University to pull within 9-8 in the all-time series. In the last meeting, the Mountain Hawks picked up a hard-fought 57-55 overtime win over the Terriers last February, handing Boston University what proved to be its final defeat of the season. The year prior, the Mountain Hawks won both meetings against the Terriers for the first time since they joined the Patriot League for the 2013-14 campaign. The teams have played in two of the last four Patriot League Tournaments (2017 and 2018). Boston U. won the first-ever meeting between the two sides in 1968-69 by an 81-56 final. It marked the only meeting between the two schools before the Patriot League era
If the Mountain Hawks win on Wednesday, they would travel to second-seeded Colgate on Saturday for the Patriot League Quarterfinals.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
| Date: | March 3, 2021 |
| Opponent: | Boston University Terriers |
| Tip-off: | 7 p.m. |
| Arena: | Case Gymnasium |
| Location: | Boston, Mass. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 4-10 PL, 1-7 Central |
| Boston U.'s Record: | 6-10, 4-10 North |
| Series: | Boston U. leads, 9-8 |
| TV: | ESPN+ |
| Radio: | Fox Sports 1230/1320 AM/94.7 FM |
Players Mentioned
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