Saturday, January 22
Boston, Mass.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
7-13,5-3Patriot
74
at
80
Boston University
13-8,4-4Patriot
1
2
F
Lehigh
31
43
74
Boston U.
41
39
80
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Valiant Second-Half Comeback Attempt Falls Just Short at Boston University, 80-74
1/22/2022 4:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOSTON – Trailing by 15 with less than 14 minutes remaining in the second half, the Lehigh men's basketball team put forth a valiant effort to pull within three on multiple occasions, but the comeback attempt fell just short, 80-74, on Saturday afternoon at Boston University. Senior Jeameril Wilson sparked the offense with 11 first-half points while junior Evan Taylor and first year Keith Higgins Jr. each scored double figures in the second. Lehigh knocked down 9-of-10 3-pointers to begin the second half, finishing 13-of-23 (56.5 percent) for the game. With the loss, the Mountain Hawks fall to 5-3 in Patriot League play while the Terriers improve to 4-4.
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"Boston University has a lot of experience," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "These guys have played together a great deal – a number of seniors and graduate students who have had success together. I thought it was a great game, a very hard-fought game by both teams and I'm proud of our guys for showing some resolve under these circumstances to play hard, play well, play together and continue to fight."
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Wilson finished the day with 18 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing his second straight double-double. He shot 6-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range.
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"We got great offensive production from Jeameril," said Reed. "He was really efficient, was knocking down shots and gave us a huge shot in the arm. He played with confidence; that confidence was contagious and went on to some other guys and they played with that type of confidence. He made some big plays and rebounded the ball well for us."
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Taylor rebounded from a three-point first half with 13 in the second to finish with 16, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc. Higgins scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half.
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Lehigh opened with the game's first four points, but the Terriers answered with 13 of the next 15 to take a 13-6 lead. But then, a Higgins basket and consecutive Wilson 3-pointers, made it an 8-0 Mountain Hawks' run to put Lehigh back in front, 14-13 with 12:22 left in the first half.
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Five straight Lehigh points – via a Taylor 3-point play and two Tyler Whitney-Sidney free throws – got the Mountain Hawks within 26-24 with just under five minutes remaining in the first. A few minutes later, Wilson's third 3-pointer got Lehigh within 34-31, but BU reeled off seven straight points over the final 1:07 of the stanza, to take a 41-31 halftime advantage.
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"In the first half, Boston University won the battle in second-chance points (11-3) and points off turnovers (14-2), and that was the difference," said Reed. "There was a flurry towards the end of the first half with a miscue and a made three right at the buzzer and that can be deflating. But our guys continued to battle and fight. They corrected some of the issues by rebounding the ball more consistently in the second half, cutting down some of those second-chance points, not giving up as many points off turnovers."
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Lehigh scored five of the first seven second-half points as Taylor's first 3-pointer of the game got the Mountain Hawks within seven at 43-36 just under two minutes in. Â
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The Mountain Hawks had an impressive answer, scoring 13 of the next 17 points due in large part to the three ball. Taylor hit a pair of treys in that run, while Higgins hit another, as a Taylor triple got the Mountain Hawks within 60-54 with 9:59 still remaining.
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Boston University's advantage swelled back to 11 (65-54), but Lehigh again responded. Junior Jake Betlow's second 3-pointer in 1:03 got the Mountain Hawks within one possession at 70-67 with 5:14 to go.
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"I thought Boston University made a lot of very good, individual one-on-one plays," said Reed. "We put ourselves in a position where they had to beat us instead of us beating ourselves."
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For the game, Lehigh shot 50.0 percent from the field (27-of-54), including 56.5 percent from 3-point range (13-of-23) – marking the third time in the last four games at 50 percent or better from behind the arc. The Terriers also shot exactly 50 percent from the floor (30-of-60), including 31.3 percent from distance (5-of-16). BU held a 33-26 edge on the glass. Lehigh finished with 13 turnovers (only four in the second half) while the Terriers had five.
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The Mountain Hawks return home on Wednesday to host Army West Point at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets, please click here.
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Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.Gallery: (1-22-2022) Men's Basketball at Boston University, 1/22/22
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"Boston University has a lot of experience," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "These guys have played together a great deal – a number of seniors and graduate students who have had success together. I thought it was a great game, a very hard-fought game by both teams and I'm proud of our guys for showing some resolve under these circumstances to play hard, play well, play together and continue to fight."
Â
Wilson finished the day with 18 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing his second straight double-double. He shot 6-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range.
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"We got great offensive production from Jeameril," said Reed. "He was really efficient, was knocking down shots and gave us a huge shot in the arm. He played with confidence; that confidence was contagious and went on to some other guys and they played with that type of confidence. He made some big plays and rebounded the ball well for us."
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Taylor rebounded from a three-point first half with 13 in the second to finish with 16, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc. Higgins scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half.
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Lehigh opened with the game's first four points, but the Terriers answered with 13 of the next 15 to take a 13-6 lead. But then, a Higgins basket and consecutive Wilson 3-pointers, made it an 8-0 Mountain Hawks' run to put Lehigh back in front, 14-13 with 12:22 left in the first half.
Boston University immediately answered, staging an 11-2 run to take a 24-16 lead with 6:05 on the clock.Down seven? No problem. The Mountain Hawks go on an 8-0 run, including a pair of @jeameril_wilson 3-pointers to retake the lead.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 22, 2022
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/4xP1Cx06Aq pic.twitter.com/aI1OyQnwkr
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Five straight Lehigh points – via a Taylor 3-point play and two Tyler Whitney-Sidney free throws – got the Mountain Hawks within 26-24 with just under five minutes remaining in the first. A few minutes later, Wilson's third 3-pointer got Lehigh within 34-31, but BU reeled off seven straight points over the final 1:07 of the stanza, to take a 41-31 halftime advantage.
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"In the first half, Boston University won the battle in second-chance points (11-3) and points off turnovers (14-2), and that was the difference," said Reed. "There was a flurry towards the end of the first half with a miscue and a made three right at the buzzer and that can be deflating. But our guys continued to battle and fight. They corrected some of the issues by rebounding the ball more consistently in the second half, cutting down some of those second-chance points, not giving up as many points off turnovers."
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Lehigh scored five of the first seven second-half points as Taylor's first 3-pointer of the game got the Mountain Hawks within seven at 43-36 just under two minutes in. Â
From there, the Terriers slowly increased its lead, with it reaching 15 (56-41) with 13:26 on the clock.BU went up 12, but just like that, the Mountain Hawks score five straight via two free throws and this @Evant2415 3. Terriers call a quick timeout.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 22, 2022
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/4xP1Cx06Aq pic.twitter.com/1qFnfKzMY0
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The Mountain Hawks had an impressive answer, scoring 13 of the next 17 points due in large part to the three ball. Taylor hit a pair of treys in that run, while Higgins hit another, as a Taylor triple got the Mountain Hawks within 60-54 with 9:59 still remaining.
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Boston University's advantage swelled back to 11 (65-54), but Lehigh again responded. Junior Jake Betlow's second 3-pointer in 1:03 got the Mountain Hawks within one possession at 70-67 with 5:14 to go.
Fire me up @Evant2415 🔥🔥🔥
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 22, 2022
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/4xP1Cx06Aq pic.twitter.com/WpgiYeT2My
Back and forth down the stretch, the Mountain Hawks got back within three on three more occasions (73-70, 75-72 and 77-74), and had a chance to tie with just over a minute remaining, but three is as close as they could come.Mountain Hawks now 8-of-9 from three this half as @jake_betlow's second three gets Lehigh back within one possession!
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 22, 2022
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/4xP1Cx06Aq pic.twitter.com/XKCVHxQYMG
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"I thought Boston University made a lot of very good, individual one-on-one plays," said Reed. "We put ourselves in a position where they had to beat us instead of us beating ourselves."
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For the game, Lehigh shot 50.0 percent from the field (27-of-54), including 56.5 percent from 3-point range (13-of-23) – marking the third time in the last four games at 50 percent or better from behind the arc. The Terriers also shot exactly 50 percent from the floor (30-of-60), including 31.3 percent from distance (5-of-16). BU held a 33-26 edge on the glass. Lehigh finished with 13 turnovers (only four in the second half) while the Terriers had five.
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The Mountain Hawks return home on Wednesday to host Army West Point at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets, please click here.
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Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
ÂHear from Coach @BrettReed following today's hard-fought 80-74 defeat at Boston University pic.twitter.com/v9M023WnRB
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 22, 2022
Team Stats
Lehigh
BU
FG%
.500
.492
3FG%
.565
.294
FT%
.875
.714
RB
26
34
TO
13
5
STL
2
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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