Friday, January 7
West Point, N.Y.
5 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Army West Point
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Pair of 2-0 Teams Set to Square off Friday in West Point
1/6/2022 4:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's basketball team will travel to West Point, N.Y. on Friday to face Army in a big matchup featuring 2-0 Patriot League teams. Opening tipoff is set for 5 p.m. on ESPN+. The Mountain Hawks have won three straight overall, most recently defeating defending league champion Colgate, 85-81. Lehigh jumped out to a 22-7 lead, then used a late 10-0 run to retake a five-point lead, on the way to its first win over the Raiders since 2018.
Â
The Mountain Hawks featured a pair of 20-point scorers for the first time this season (and first time since last Feb. 27 at Lafayette when Marques Wilson scored 22 and Nic Lynch added 22). On Tuesday, first year Keith Higgins Jr. had a career-high 23 points (16 coming after halftime) while senior Jeameril Wilson tied a career high with 20 (14 coming in the game's first 7:23. Over Lehigh's first two Patriot League games, Higgins has scored 27 second-half points, proving critical in both victories. Wilson's 20 points came in just 20 minutes due to foul trouble, while he dished a career-high five assists as well. Wilson finished with a game-high plus/minus of +16, and he shot 9-of-9 from the floor - the most makes by a Mountain Hawk without a miss since Tim Kempton was 9-of-9 on Mar. 5, 2015 vs. American. As a team, Lehigh scored 80 points for the first time since an 82-74 win last Jan. 24 at Holy Cross.
Â
An all-around team effort saw senior Nic Lynch post his fifth-career double-double, reaching double-figure points for the fourth time in the last five games. Junior Reed Fenton scored 12 points, nine coming after halftime, including two big free throws with seven seconds remaining to put Lehigh ahead two possessions. First year Tyler Whitney-Sidney made his first-career start and tallied a career-high eight points to go with two rebounds and two steals. Junior Evan Taylor tied a career-high four assists. As a team, the Mountain Hawks had a season-low six turnovers, none from the starting backcourt of Higgins and Whitney-Sidney.
Â
Tuesday marked head coach Brett Reed's 200th career game at Stabler Arena, and his 137th victory at home. In the process, he moved into sole possession of second place in Patriot League history for career league wins with 127.
Â
Lehigh and Army West Point are set to square off for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Â
Army stands 8-6 on the season, including 2-0 in Patriot League play with wins over Loyola (in overtime) and at Bucknell. The Black Knights feature two of the top 10 scorers in the league in Jalen Rucker (fifth, 15.6 points per game) and Josh Caldwell (10th, 13.2). Charlie Peterson leads Army in rebounding (6.4) while Aaron Duhart is No. 1 in assists (50). Army is second in the Patriot League in scoring offense (73.1) and fourth in scoring defense (70.9). The Black Knights lost four of their final six games entering Patriot League play - with wins over Purchase College and NJIT.
Â
Lehigh and Army didn't play last season due to the shortened COVID-19 impacted season. The Black Knights won both the meetings in 2019-20 - 80-79 at Lehigh and 79-66 at Army. Prior to that, the Mountain Hawks had won the previous four meetings. Overall, Army leads the all-time series, 66-46. During the 2018-19 season, Lehigh erased three double-figure second-half deficits (18, 11 and 15) to win them all, with the final victory sending Lehigh to the Patriot League Semifinals. The Mountain Hawks have won four of the last six at Army overall. The first-ever meeting between the two sides came in 1906-07, a 26-24 Lehigh victory. Army won the next matchup in 1914-15 by a 19-6 final.
Â
Following Friday's game, the Mountain Hawks return home to host Holy Cross on Monday at 7 p.m.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Â
Â
The Mountain Hawks featured a pair of 20-point scorers for the first time this season (and first time since last Feb. 27 at Lafayette when Marques Wilson scored 22 and Nic Lynch added 22). On Tuesday, first year Keith Higgins Jr. had a career-high 23 points (16 coming after halftime) while senior Jeameril Wilson tied a career high with 20 (14 coming in the game's first 7:23. Over Lehigh's first two Patriot League games, Higgins has scored 27 second-half points, proving critical in both victories. Wilson's 20 points came in just 20 minutes due to foul trouble, while he dished a career-high five assists as well. Wilson finished with a game-high plus/minus of +16, and he shot 9-of-9 from the floor - the most makes by a Mountain Hawk without a miss since Tim Kempton was 9-of-9 on Mar. 5, 2015 vs. American. As a team, Lehigh scored 80 points for the first time since an 82-74 win last Jan. 24 at Holy Cross.
Â
An all-around team effort saw senior Nic Lynch post his fifth-career double-double, reaching double-figure points for the fourth time in the last five games. Junior Reed Fenton scored 12 points, nine coming after halftime, including two big free throws with seven seconds remaining to put Lehigh ahead two possessions. First year Tyler Whitney-Sidney made his first-career start and tallied a career-high eight points to go with two rebounds and two steals. Junior Evan Taylor tied a career-high four assists. As a team, the Mountain Hawks had a season-low six turnovers, none from the starting backcourt of Higgins and Whitney-Sidney.
Â
Tuesday marked head coach Brett Reed's 200th career game at Stabler Arena, and his 137th victory at home. In the process, he moved into sole possession of second place in Patriot League history for career league wins with 127.
Â
Lehigh and Army West Point are set to square off for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Â
Army stands 8-6 on the season, including 2-0 in Patriot League play with wins over Loyola (in overtime) and at Bucknell. The Black Knights feature two of the top 10 scorers in the league in Jalen Rucker (fifth, 15.6 points per game) and Josh Caldwell (10th, 13.2). Charlie Peterson leads Army in rebounding (6.4) while Aaron Duhart is No. 1 in assists (50). Army is second in the Patriot League in scoring offense (73.1) and fourth in scoring defense (70.9). The Black Knights lost four of their final six games entering Patriot League play - with wins over Purchase College and NJIT.
Â
Lehigh and Army didn't play last season due to the shortened COVID-19 impacted season. The Black Knights won both the meetings in 2019-20 - 80-79 at Lehigh and 79-66 at Army. Prior to that, the Mountain Hawks had won the previous four meetings. Overall, Army leads the all-time series, 66-46. During the 2018-19 season, Lehigh erased three double-figure second-half deficits (18, 11 and 15) to win them all, with the final victory sending Lehigh to the Patriot League Semifinals. The Mountain Hawks have won four of the last six at Army overall. The first-ever meeting between the two sides came in 1906-07, a 26-24 Lehigh victory. Army won the next matchup in 1914-15 by a 19-6 final.
Â
Following Friday's game, the Mountain Hawks return home to host Holy Cross on Monday at 7 p.m.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Â
| Date: | January 7, 2022 |
| Opponent: | Army West Point Raiders |
| Tip-off: | 5 p.m. |
| Arena (Capacity): | Christl Arena (5,043) |
| Location: | West Point, N.Y. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 4-10, 2-0 Patriot League |
| Army's Record: | 8-6, 2-0 Patriot League |
| Series: | Army leads, 66-46 |
| TV: | ESPN+ |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM & 1230 AM |
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballSeason Preview: Men's Basketball
Thursday, October 31
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, October 30
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, February 07
Men's Basketball vs SUNY Oneonta
Thursday, November 16
