Wednesday, January 19
Annapolis, Md.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
7-12,5-2Patriot
69
at
61
Navy
12-6,5-2Patriot
1
2
F
Lehigh
34
35
69
Navy
30
31
61
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Mountain Hawks Pick Up Hard-Fought 69-61 Win at Navy
1/19/2022 10:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Lehigh men's basketball team went on a 27-10 run to bridge the end of the first half and beginning of the second, turning a four-point deficit into a 13-point lead, on the way to an impressive 69-61 road victory at first-place Navy on Wednesday night. Junior Evan Taylor led the offense with 21 points for his third straight 20-point game (and fourth in seven Patriot League contests after none his entire career up until that point). With the win, Lehigh improves to 5-2 in league play, moving into a four-way tie for first place in the standings (along with Navy, Loyola and Army West Point).
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"I was really proud of their effort," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "I thought they exhibited toughness tonight. We stayed right with it. You knew Navy was going to make a couple runs, but we kept our poise and kept our composure. Kids continued to battle and fight. And if you can defend, if you can rebound, if you can take care of the ball, you're going to put yourself in a position to win.
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"Tonight, we outrebounded them and considering they had multiple offensive rebounds in the first two possessions, we adjusted, we made better contact, were more disciplined with our block outs and really dominated the glass for the most part after that point."
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Taylor scored 14 of his points in the first half – the third time in five halves he's scored exactly 14 points. He finished the night 7-of-10 from the field while adding seven rebounds, two assists and a career-high tying three blocks.
"It's really fun as a coach when you see a player develop and that's what Evan has done," said Reed. "He's gotten better and better and better. This last summer, he spent a lot of time working on his shot mechanics, adjusting some of his form. Now, he's gotten to the point where he's pretty prolific out there knocking down shots, is a major threat and he gets it off cleaner and more quickly. He's also been working on finishing through contact more."
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Senior Jeameril Wilson added 11 points and 10 rebounds for his third-career double-double and first since the end of his sophomore season. First year Keith Higgins Jr. posted 14 points and a career-high seven rebounds, shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Classmate Tyler Whitney-Sidney tied a career-high 11 points while also playing exceptional defense and coming up with a pair of big defensive rebounds in the final 1:05 to help seal the win.
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Navy opened a pair of early five-point leads before a 5-0 Lehigh surge, capped off by a Taylor layup, evened the score at 11 almost midway through the first half. The Mountain Hawks wouldn't lead over the ensuing minutes, but did pull even at 21 and 23. Junior Jake Betlow had one first-half stretch of scoring seven straight Lehigh points.
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Trailing 27-23, that's when Lehigh's offense, and specifically Taylor, caught fire. Taylor scored the Mountain Hawks' next eight points, which included a 4-point play with 2:14 left in the first half.
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The Mountain Hawks' advantage swelled to as much as 13 before the Mids began to chip away. Navy got within seven (54-47) with 8:35 on the clock then six (55-49) with 5:41 to go. Lehigh's offense went a little cold in that stretch, but the defense continued to stand tall. Taylor connected on a big 3-point play with 4:26 remaining to put Lehigh back up nine (58-49).
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For the game, Lehigh shot 44.7 percent from the field (21-of-47), including 50.0 percent from 3-point range (7-of-14). The Midshipmen finished at 34.3 percent (24-of-70) and 27.8 percent from behind the arc (5-of-18). Lehigh held a 42-40 edge on the glass.
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"Navy tried to establish themselves right away and instead of folding, we answered the call, stepped forward," said Reed. "I thought our defense was really strong. We held them to a low percentage. We protected the rim. Both Evan and Dom had three blocks each. We did a good job with some individual matchups. Tyler did a great job moving his feet, containing penetration. We got all those ingredients, along with Jeameril's rebounding, which was terrific."
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Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more. Â
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"I was really proud of their effort," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "I thought they exhibited toughness tonight. We stayed right with it. You knew Navy was going to make a couple runs, but we kept our poise and kept our composure. Kids continued to battle and fight. And if you can defend, if you can rebound, if you can take care of the ball, you're going to put yourself in a position to win.
Â
"Tonight, we outrebounded them and considering they had multiple offensive rebounds in the first two possessions, we adjusted, we made better contact, were more disciplined with our block outs and really dominated the glass for the most part after that point."
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Taylor scored 14 of his points in the first half – the third time in five halves he's scored exactly 14 points. He finished the night 7-of-10 from the field while adding seven rebounds, two assists and a career-high tying three blocks.
"It's really fun as a coach when you see a player develop and that's what Evan has done," said Reed. "He's gotten better and better and better. This last summer, he spent a lot of time working on his shot mechanics, adjusting some of his form. Now, he's gotten to the point where he's pretty prolific out there knocking down shots, is a major threat and he gets it off cleaner and more quickly. He's also been working on finishing through contact more."
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Senior Jeameril Wilson added 11 points and 10 rebounds for his third-career double-double and first since the end of his sophomore season. First year Keith Higgins Jr. posted 14 points and a career-high seven rebounds, shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Classmate Tyler Whitney-Sidney tied a career-high 11 points while also playing exceptional defense and coming up with a pair of big defensive rebounds in the final 1:05 to help seal the win.
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Navy opened a pair of early five-point leads before a 5-0 Lehigh surge, capped off by a Taylor layup, evened the score at 11 almost midway through the first half. The Mountain Hawks wouldn't lead over the ensuing minutes, but did pull even at 21 and 23. Junior Jake Betlow had one first-half stretch of scoring seven straight Lehigh points.
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Trailing 27-23, that's when Lehigh's offense, and specifically Taylor, caught fire. Taylor scored the Mountain Hawks' next eight points, which included a 4-point play with 2:14 left in the first half.
With Lehigh up one, Wilson knocked down a half-court buzzer beater, banking it in to give the Mountain Hawks a 34-30 halftime advantage..@Evant2415 had many first-half highlights and this was his biggest, a late four-point play 💪
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 20, 2022
Watch the second half on ESPN+ https://t.co/gBQr8QQl7x pic.twitter.com/2eR83kiyqX
Lehigh took that momentum into the second, as the Mountain Hawks connected on three 3-pointers in less than a four-minute span. Two came from Higgins, with his second putting Lehigh ahead, 48-37, forcing a Navy timeout with 14:52 on the clock.What a way to go into halftime! @jeameril_wilson with the half court buzzer beater! #SCTop10 | #PLTop3 | @ESPNAssignDesk
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 20, 2022
Watch the second half on ESPN+ https://t.co/gBQr8QQl7x pic.twitter.com/E0IKDMy0gy
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The Mountain Hawks' advantage swelled to as much as 13 before the Mids began to chip away. Navy got within seven (54-47) with 8:35 on the clock then six (55-49) with 5:41 to go. Lehigh's offense went a little cold in that stretch, but the defense continued to stand tall. Taylor connected on a big 3-point play with 4:26 remaining to put Lehigh back up nine (58-49).
Navy couldn't get any closer than six the rest of the way, as the Mountain Hawks continued to answer, wrapping up the 69-61 final.HUGE 3-point play by @Evant2415, who is up to 18 points. Currently Lehigh 58, Navy 52 at our final media timeout. 3:03 remaining.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 20, 2022
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/gBQr8QQl7x pic.twitter.com/6yAPl1ZAtp
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For the game, Lehigh shot 44.7 percent from the field (21-of-47), including 50.0 percent from 3-point range (7-of-14). The Midshipmen finished at 34.3 percent (24-of-70) and 27.8 percent from behind the arc (5-of-18). Lehigh held a 42-40 edge on the glass.
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"Navy tried to establish themselves right away and instead of folding, we answered the call, stepped forward," said Reed. "I thought our defense was really strong. We held them to a low percentage. We protected the rim. Both Evan and Dom had three blocks each. We did a good job with some individual matchups. Tyler did a great job moving his feet, containing penetration. We got all those ingredients, along with Jeameril's rebounding, which was terrific."
The Mountain Hawks continue on the road Saturday to face Boston University at 1 p.m.Navy is cutting into Lehigh's lead, but plays like this block by Dominic Parolin certainly helps!
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 20, 2022
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/gBQr8QQl7x pic.twitter.com/tMCL1WIvAl
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Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more. Â
ÂHear what Coach @BrettReed had to say following tonight's big win at Navy! pic.twitter.com/BRQ0MuoabN
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 20, 2022
Team Stats
Lehigh
Navy
FG%
.447
.343
3FG%
.500
.278
FT%
.645
.444
RB
42
40
TO
14
6
STL
3
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
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