Wednesday, January 26
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
8-13,6-3Patriot
84
vs
71
Army West Point
12-9,6-3Patriot
1
2
F
Army West Point
30
41
71
Lehigh
33
51
84
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Five Mountain Hawks Score in Double Figures as Lehigh Beats Army West Point, 84-71
1/26/2022 10:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's basketball team improved to 6-3 in Patriot League play, beating Army West Point 84-71 on Wednesday evening in Stabler Arena behind five players in double figures. After leading 33-30 at the half, the Mountain Hawks dropped 51 second-half points, which included making 9-of-16 3-pointers over the final 20 minutes (and 14-of-30 for the game – just one shy of tying the program's Stabler Arena record).
First year Tyler Whitney-Sidney led the way, setting a new career-high 19 points (13 of which were in the second half), finishing 7-of-10 from the field. Junior Evan Taylor added 16 points (11 in the second half), shooting 6-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-8 from 3-point range. First year Keith Higgins Jr. tallied 13 points, 11 in the second half, while senior Jeameril Wilson scored 12 points and classmate Nic Lynch added 11.
"You talk about balance with five guys in double figures, but I also thought Jake Betlow gave us some great minutes as well in the beginning," Reed continued. "Then in the second half, we could have rocked with him a little bit longer – because he was making good plays and extra passes that led to an assist for the next guy. I thought our guys shared the basketball, played together, played unselfishly and the byproduct was putting a lot of points up on the board."
Army's leading scorer Jalen Rucker led the Black Knights on Wednesday night, scoring 18 points. Lehigh's win came after a 77-55 defeat at Army earlier this month to tie the season series at 1-1 and snap a three-game losing streak against the Black Knights.
With the win, the Mountain Hawks move into a four-way tie for second place in the Patriot League standings. Lehigh, Army, Navy and Loyola are all 6-3.
Betlow started the scoring for Lehigh by draining a 3-pointer just seconds after entering the game. That was followed by a pull-up jumper from Higgins, as Lehigh led 10-4 at the first media timeout.
The teams continued to go back and forth, with the lead changing six times. Army's largest lead was 25-21, but the Mountain Hawks answered with an 8-0 run to take a 29-25 lead, featuring two 3-pointers in a row by fifth year Marques Wilson, while keeping Army scoreless for nearly four minutes as well. Lehigh went into halftime leading, 33-30.
Lehigh's offense was firing during the second half, shooting 61.3 percent from the field (19-of-31) and 56.3 percent from the 3-point line (9-of-16). For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 55.2 percent from the floor (32-of-58), including 46.7 percent from behind the arc (14-of-30). Army finished at 47.2 percent from the field (25-of-53), including 21.4 percent from the 3-point line (3-of-14). Lehigh outrebounded Army, 33-28.
The Mountain Hawks will now head to Holy Cross on Friday to face the Crusaders. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. on ESPN+. The game was originally slated for Saturday at 2 p.m., but got moved earlier due to the impending snowstorm in New England.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
First year Tyler Whitney-Sidney led the way, setting a new career-high 19 points (13 of which were in the second half), finishing 7-of-10 from the field. Junior Evan Taylor added 16 points (11 in the second half), shooting 6-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-8 from 3-point range. First year Keith Higgins Jr. tallied 13 points, 11 in the second half, while senior Jeameril Wilson scored 12 points and classmate Nic Lynch added 11.
"We had an offensive explosion tonight that was really impressive," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We had 21 assists on 32 field goals and a lot of them were just great looks. When we make quick decisions, when we don't over-penetrate, we end up finding opportunities and making the plays.Lots of highlights in this one! pic.twitter.com/gBlEf4VEN2
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 27, 2022
"You talk about balance with five guys in double figures, but I also thought Jake Betlow gave us some great minutes as well in the beginning," Reed continued. "Then in the second half, we could have rocked with him a little bit longer – because he was making good plays and extra passes that led to an assist for the next guy. I thought our guys shared the basketball, played together, played unselfishly and the byproduct was putting a lot of points up on the board."
Army's leading scorer Jalen Rucker led the Black Knights on Wednesday night, scoring 18 points. Lehigh's win came after a 77-55 defeat at Army earlier this month to tie the season series at 1-1 and snap a three-game losing streak against the Black Knights.
With the win, the Mountain Hawks move into a four-way tie for second place in the Patriot League standings. Lehigh, Army, Navy and Loyola are all 6-3.
Betlow started the scoring for Lehigh by draining a 3-pointer just seconds after entering the game. That was followed by a pull-up jumper from Higgins, as Lehigh led 10-4 at the first media timeout.
Army responded with 12 of the next 16 points, as an Aaron Duhart fast break layup gave the Black Knights their first lead, 16-14, with 9:39 left in the first half. In that stretch, Army's defense held the Mountain Hawks scoreless for nearly three minutes until a Jeameril Wilson 3-pointer gave Lehigh the lead back, 17-16.Enter the game ➡️ Knock down a three.@jake_betlow 😎
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 27, 2022
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/YQXjRNeAoS pic.twitter.com/trpX9LL19x
The teams continued to go back and forth, with the lead changing six times. Army's largest lead was 25-21, but the Mountain Hawks answered with an 8-0 run to take a 29-25 lead, featuring two 3-pointers in a row by fifth year Marques Wilson, while keeping Army scoreless for nearly four minutes as well. Lehigh went into halftime leading, 33-30.
The Black Knights used an 8-2 second-half run to take a 44-42 lead, its first lead since 25-21, and it would prove to be their last. Lehigh responded with an 11-2 run , beginning with a Whitney-Sidney 3-pointer, layup and fastbreak dunk. It continued with 3-pointers from Lynch and Higgins to put the Mountain Hawks ahead, 53-46 with 12:02 on the clock.From down four to up four. Big 8-0 Lehigh run, capped off by this Marques (@_M_W_II) 👌
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 27, 2022
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/YQXjRNeAoS pic.twitter.com/9doU9BtpYu
"Getting production from Tyler is really important and we see there's a lot of defensive production from him because of his athleticism, his quickness and now he's got a determination," said Reed. "He's found an identity with our team to be a defender and he's embracing it and people are recognizing that he can do it well. He brought the defensive intensity, scored it for us and made some really nice passes as well."Down by one? The Mountain Hawks respond in a BIG way. This @keith_higgins13 trey caps off an 11-2 Lehigh run!
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 27, 2022
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/YQXjRNeAoS pic.twitter.com/LjwqKfaOFI
The 3-pointers kept coming as Lehigh knocked down eight of its first 12 and nine of its first 14 from behind the arc in the second half, as a Taylor trey put the Mountain Hawks ahead, 72-58, with 5:35 remaining. Lehigh took its largest lead of the game, 78-62, with 3:50 left, following a Higgins 3-point play, on the way to the 84-71 victory.How about a 3-pointer, steal and slam in less than 30 sequences? What a sequence for @twhitneysidney 👀 He's up to a career-high 15 in this one.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 27, 2022
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/YQXjRNeAoS pic.twitter.com/l2SmzFEcsj
Lehigh's offense was firing during the second half, shooting 61.3 percent from the field (19-of-31) and 56.3 percent from the 3-point line (9-of-16). For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 55.2 percent from the floor (32-of-58), including 46.7 percent from behind the arc (14-of-30). Army finished at 47.2 percent from the field (25-of-53), including 21.4 percent from the 3-point line (3-of-14). Lehigh outrebounded Army, 33-28.
The Mountain Hawks will now head to Holy Cross on Friday to face the Crusaders. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. on ESPN+. The game was originally slated for Saturday at 2 p.m., but got moved earlier due to the impending snowstorm in New England.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
ARM
Lehigh
FG%
.472
.552
3FG%
.214
.467
FT%
.667
.600
RB
28
33
TO
10
15
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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