Saturday, February 12
Bethlehem, Pa.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Lafayette
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Mountain Hawks, Leopards Square Off Saturday Afternoon
2/10/2022 8:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's basketball team returns home following consecutive defeats to host archrival Lafayette in Stabler Arena. Opening tipoff is set for 12 p.m. on ESPN+. The Rivalry is presented by Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute. At halftime, Lehigh will recognize its 2012 team, which won the Patriot League Championship and beat Duke in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 68-52 defeat at Colgate Wednesday, but remain tied for fourth in the Patriot League standings (with Army West Point and Loyola).
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Senior Nic Lynch continued his stellar play on Wednesday, narrowly missing a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. Classmate Jeameril Wilson added 11 points while first year Keith Higgins Jr. tallied 10 points and a career-high tying seven rebounds. Fellow first year Tyler Whitney-Sidney had eight points, a team-high four assists and two rebounds. Junior Evan Taylor scored seven points, all in the first half, while adding a block that was the No. 8 Play of the Day on SportsCenter. First year Burke Chebuhar came in late and scored the final four points of the game via a free throw and 3-pointer.
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With five games remaining, Lehigh will play three of them at home (vs. Lafayette, Bucknell and American), along with road games at Loyola and Lafayette. Saturday will be the first meeting of the season with the Leopards, as they're the last team Lehigh has yet to face. It will also be the final regular season meeting in Stabler Arena against Leopards' 27th year head coach Fran O'Hanlon, who recently announced he will be retiring after the season.
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Lafayette enters the weekend with a 7-15 record, including 4-7 in Patriot League play. Last time out, the Leopards snapped a two-game winning streak by falling at Navy, 68-44. The week prior, Lafayette picked up a 71-62 win over American and 74-72 overtime victory vs. Bucknell - both coming at home. The highlight of Lafayette's nonleague slate was a 53-51 win at Rutgers. Four Leopards are averaging double-figure points, led by reigning Patriot League Player of the Week Neal Quinn (14.1 points, 8.1 rebounds). Tyrone Perry (11.1), Kyle Jenkins (10.6) and Leo O'Boyle round out the four Lafayette players in double figures. The Leopards are second in the Patriot League in 3-point field goals made per game (8.6), but 10th in 3-point field goal percentage (31.2).
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After Lehigh won the first meeting last season, Lafayette responded with three straight wins - the last two by six and one. In last season's opener, Marques Wilson hit a long buzzer-beating 3-pointer as time expired in the season opener, a shot that led SportsCenter that night. The Mountain Hawks then opened a 16-2 lead the following day, but Lafayette clawed back to win, 82-70. After two Lafayette wins in late February, the Leopards extended their all-time lead to 147-91. Overall, Lehigh has still won 10 of the last 14 meetings overall, including four of the last six at home. The long-time rivals first met during the 1901-92 season, a 46-13 Lehigh victory. Lehigh won the first four games, with Lafayette's first win coming in 1914-15.
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After Saturday's game, the Mountain Hawks have a quick turnaround and will host Bucknell on Monday night at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Monday's game is presented by JFR Salvage.
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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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Senior Nic Lynch continued his stellar play on Wednesday, narrowly missing a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. Classmate Jeameril Wilson added 11 points while first year Keith Higgins Jr. tallied 10 points and a career-high tying seven rebounds. Fellow first year Tyler Whitney-Sidney had eight points, a team-high four assists and two rebounds. Junior Evan Taylor scored seven points, all in the first half, while adding a block that was the No. 8 Play of the Day on SportsCenter. First year Burke Chebuhar came in late and scored the final four points of the game via a free throw and 3-pointer.
Defensively, the Mountain Hawks held the league's leading 3-point shooting team on the season, Colgate, to just 25.0 percent from behind the arc (4-of-16). However, the Raiders were 26-of-39 on 2-pointers. While the Raiders improved to 9-2, the Mountain Hawks remain in a tie for fourth place at 7-6 in Patriot League play.Evan Taylor's (@Evant2415) chasedown block was the #8 Play of the Day on SportsCenter! 😤 pic.twitter.com/fbKu26SueH
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 10, 2022
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With five games remaining, Lehigh will play three of them at home (vs. Lafayette, Bucknell and American), along with road games at Loyola and Lafayette. Saturday will be the first meeting of the season with the Leopards, as they're the last team Lehigh has yet to face. It will also be the final regular season meeting in Stabler Arena against Leopards' 27th year head coach Fran O'Hanlon, who recently announced he will be retiring after the season.
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Lafayette enters the weekend with a 7-15 record, including 4-7 in Patriot League play. Last time out, the Leopards snapped a two-game winning streak by falling at Navy, 68-44. The week prior, Lafayette picked up a 71-62 win over American and 74-72 overtime victory vs. Bucknell - both coming at home. The highlight of Lafayette's nonleague slate was a 53-51 win at Rutgers. Four Leopards are averaging double-figure points, led by reigning Patriot League Player of the Week Neal Quinn (14.1 points, 8.1 rebounds). Tyrone Perry (11.1), Kyle Jenkins (10.6) and Leo O'Boyle round out the four Lafayette players in double figures. The Leopards are second in the Patriot League in 3-point field goals made per game (8.6), but 10th in 3-point field goal percentage (31.2).
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After Lehigh won the first meeting last season, Lafayette responded with three straight wins - the last two by six and one. In last season's opener, Marques Wilson hit a long buzzer-beating 3-pointer as time expired in the season opener, a shot that led SportsCenter that night. The Mountain Hawks then opened a 16-2 lead the following day, but Lafayette clawed back to win, 82-70. After two Lafayette wins in late February, the Leopards extended their all-time lead to 147-91. Overall, Lehigh has still won 10 of the last 14 meetings overall, including four of the last six at home. The long-time rivals first met during the 1901-92 season, a 46-13 Lehigh victory. Lehigh won the first four games, with Lafayette's first win coming in 1914-15.
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After Saturday's game, the Mountain Hawks have a quick turnaround and will host Bucknell on Monday night at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Monday's game is presented by JFR Salvage.
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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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| Date: | February 12, 2022 |
| Opponent: | Lafayette Leopards |
| Tip-off: | 12 p.m. |
| Arena (Capacity): | Stabler Arena (5,600) |
| Location: | Easton, Pa. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 9-16, 7-6 Patriot League |
| Lafayette's Record: | 7-15, 4-7 Patriot League |
| Series: | Lafayette leads, 147-91 |
| TV: | ESPN+ |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM & 1230 AM |
Players Mentioned
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