Friday, January 7
West Point, N.Y.
5 p.m.
Lehigh University
4-11,2-1Patriot
55
at
77
Army West Point
9-6,3-0Patriot
1
2
F
Lehigh
13
42
55
Army West Point
39
38
77
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Mountain Hawks Drop Friday Matchup at Army West Point
1/7/2022 8:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point opened a 39-13 halftime lead and despite the Lehigh men's basketball team holding a 42-38 edge in the second half, it wasn't nearly enough in a 77-55 defeat on Friday at Christl Arena. With the loss, the Mountain Hawks fall to 2-1 in Patriot League play while the Black Knights improve to 3-0. Junior Evan Taylor and first year Keith Higgins Jr. led Lehigh's offense with 13 points apiece.
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"I thought our offensive rhythm was really poor and a lot of our decision making was poor [in the first half]," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "It wasn't just the turnovers that really hurt us, but it was also the recognition of what they were doing and where the open opportunities were. It seemed like our guys weren't surveying the floor to see where the help was coming from.
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"If Army's going to play that particular style and flood the paint, there's a lot of opportunities for our offense to be able to score," Reed continued. "We ended up showing that a little bit more in the second half. I just wish we would have been able to make those recognition plays earlier in the game."
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It took Lehigh just 4:43 into the second half to equal its first-half point total, as Higgins knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, Jeameril Wilson added a three and Taylor scored four points. Higgins' second 3-pointer of the half (and third for the game) pulled Lehigh within 48-26 before the half was five minutes old.
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The rest of the half saw Army consistently answer to take as much as a 27-point lead, but the Mountain Hawks would respond on multiple occasions to cut the deficit to 21. Lehigh did get as close as 18 after a Parolin layup made the score 73-55 with 1:25 remaining. But the Black Knights scored the final four points to wrap up the 77-55 final.
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Lehigh shot 51.9 percent from the field in the second half (14-of-27) to finish at an even 40.0 percent for the game (20-of-50). On the other side, Army shot 54.0 percent (27-of-50). The Mountain Hawks shot 28.6 percent from 3-point range (6-of-21) while Army finished at 45.5 percent (5-of-11). The Black Knights held a 38-22 advantage in rebounds. Army committed 16 turnovers to Lehigh's 14 (only three of which were in the second half).
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"In the second half, our guys competed," said Reed. "Unfortunately, we dug ourselves such a hole that we didn't necessarily see it translate to a super competitive game. Guys were moving the basketball. I thought it was shared; they were seeing where guys were open and giving them the ball.
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"It wasn't until we started surveying on the perimeter, sharing the basketball and even looking to the other side of the floor that the paint opened up," Reed continued. "And that's really what we needed to do sooner.
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The Mountain Hawks return home to host Holy Cross on Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. 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.
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"I thought our offensive rhythm was really poor and a lot of our decision making was poor [in the first half]," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "It wasn't just the turnovers that really hurt us, but it was also the recognition of what they were doing and where the open opportunities were. It seemed like our guys weren't surveying the floor to see where the help was coming from.
Â
"If Army's going to play that particular style and flood the paint, there's a lot of opportunities for our offense to be able to score," Reed continued. "We ended up showing that a little bit more in the second half. I just wish we would have been able to make those recognition plays earlier in the game."
On a night in which Lehigh's offense struggled to convert opportunities, Higgins was 5-of-7 from the field (including 3-of-4 from 3-point range), scoring 10 of his 13 points in the second half. He now has double-figure second-half points in four straight games, including all three Patriot League contests thus far. Taylor had Lehigh's first six points of the game, also finishing with 13 on 5-of-10 shooting. Sophomore Dominic Parolin was strong off the bench, scoring 10 points – all coming in the second half.🎥 highlights from Friday night at West Point 🎥 pic.twitter.com/d45b35HZMC
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 8, 2022
.@keith_higgins15 up to a team-high 11 points after this drive and finish.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 7, 2022
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/zeQ9GDZYSD pic.twitter.com/pR5LaQgRNC
The Black Knights took control early, holding leads of 7-0, 16-2 and 21-4. Lehigh got within 24-11 after a Higgins 3-pointer with 5:54 left in the first half, but Army answered with a 10-0 run to take a 24-point lead, on the way to the 39-13 halftime advantage..@Evant2415 up to 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting in this one.
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 7, 2022
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/zeQ9GDZYSD pic.twitter.com/o5MECYDPny
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It took Lehigh just 4:43 into the second half to equal its first-half point total, as Higgins knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, Jeameril Wilson added a three and Taylor scored four points. Higgins' second 3-pointer of the half (and third for the game) pulled Lehigh within 48-26 before the half was five minutes old.
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The rest of the half saw Army consistently answer to take as much as a 27-point lead, but the Mountain Hawks would respond on multiple occasions to cut the deficit to 21. Lehigh did get as close as 18 after a Parolin layup made the score 73-55 with 1:25 remaining. But the Black Knights scored the final four points to wrap up the 77-55 final.
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Lehigh shot 51.9 percent from the field in the second half (14-of-27) to finish at an even 40.0 percent for the game (20-of-50). On the other side, Army shot 54.0 percent (27-of-50). The Mountain Hawks shot 28.6 percent from 3-point range (6-of-21) while Army finished at 45.5 percent (5-of-11). The Black Knights held a 38-22 advantage in rebounds. Army committed 16 turnovers to Lehigh's 14 (only three of which were in the second half).
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"In the second half, our guys competed," said Reed. "Unfortunately, we dug ourselves such a hole that we didn't necessarily see it translate to a super competitive game. Guys were moving the basketball. I thought it was shared; they were seeing where guys were open and giving them the ball.
Â
"It wasn't until we started surveying on the perimeter, sharing the basketball and even looking to the other side of the floor that the paint opened up," Reed continued. "And that's really what we needed to do sooner.
Â
The Mountain Hawks return home to host Holy Cross on Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. 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.
ÂCoach Reed following today's defeat at Army pic.twitter.com/jc3xMMPG0m
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 8, 2022
Team Stats
Lehigh
ARM
FG%
.400
.540
3FG%
.286
.455
FT%
.529
.783
RB
22
38
TO
14
16
STL
7
9
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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