Sunday, March 6
Hamilton, N.Y.
2 p.m.
Lehigh University
13-19,10-8Patriot
61
at
81
Colgate (Semifinals)
22-11,16-2Patriot
1
2
F
Lehigh
26
35
61
Colgate
38
43
81
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks Fall Short in Semifinals at Colgate
3/6/2022 6:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HAMILTON, N.Y. - The Lehigh men's basketball team struggled to find its rhythm in the Patriot League Semifinals at Colgate on Sunday, falling 81-61. First year Keith Higgins Jr. led the team with 17 points while fifth year Marques Wilson finished with 11 points in his final game as a Mountain Hawk. Lehigh tried its best to come back throughout the game, but the Mountain Hawks couldn't hold down Colgate enough to sustain their comeback attempts.
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Two big Raiders' first-half runs (16-2 and 14-2) proved to be critical, as Lehigh could never get back in it.
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"Against Colgate, you have to be able to score the basketball and you have to be able to do it efficiently," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We got shots up on our possessions, but it just seemed like we were reactionary, a little bit slower and it seemed like our guys didn't have that same juice. I'm looking at the first half, which was the biggest difference in the game, because I thought the fight was there in the second half. You need to be able to convert on shots and we just didn't."
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Higgins shot 7-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Wilson finished 5-of-11 from the field and 1-of-4 from three. Seniors Jeameril Wilson and Nic Lynch each scored nine points.
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Lehigh got off to a slow start, falling behind 5-0 within the first two and half minutes. Higgins scored the first basket of the game to get the Mountain Hawks on the board, in a sign of things to come for the All-Rookie team member.
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That Higgins basket sparked a 7-0 Lehigh run to tie the score at seven before the under-12 media timeout. Colgate responded with a 16-2 run of its own, as the Raiders turned a 7-5 Mountain Hawks' advantage into a 21-9 Colgate lead.
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Dominic Parolin responded, scoring seven of his eight points in the first half. Parolin finished the game 1-of-2 from three and 3-of-4 at the free throw line. He scored seven points in Lehigh's 12-3 run that pulled the Mountain Hawks within 24-21 with 6:10 on the first-half clock. However, the Raiders responded with a 14-2 run, on the way to the 38-26 halftime lead.
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Colgate continued to assert itself throughout the second half, extending its lead to 20 with eight minutes remaining, despite numerous Lehigh surges in which the Raiders answered.
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The Mountain Hawks had one last-gasp run in them. Lehigh went on a 9-0 run to trim the deficit to 12 points with 5:56 remaining. Marques Wilson contributed six points in the run and Higgins made his third three-point field goal of the game as well.
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The Raiders extended their lead, and hit 10 free throws in the game's final 1:39, on the way to the victory.
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Lehigh shot 34.9 percent for the game (22-of-63) and 30.4 percent from 3-point range (7-of-23) in its final game of the season. Colgate finished 49.2 percent from the field (29-of-59) and 44.4 percent from three (8-of-18). The Raiders dominated in the paint, scoring 42 of their 81 points. Colgate held a 43-32 edge in rebounds.
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"I need to separate the disappointment of this game, because I would've liked us to play better, but when you look at the totality of the season, there were so many positive things that came out of working with these young men," said Reed. "It wasn't always easy. But our guys stayed the course and continued to work and continued to fight. A lot of teams can't survive the lack of wins we had earlier in the year and then still maintain chemistry, maintain the enjoyment and the fun of playing and just the overall family feel that we have. It says a lot about these guys and their characters. Â
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"When these kids look back at their experience over the course of this past year, they are going to have a lot of fond memories," Reed continued. "They're going to know they were well cared for, they were going to know that they were loved and they're going to feel that sense of community, a sense of teamwork and a sense of friendship from sharing the moment with these other guys, like they have ever since the beginning of the season."
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ÂGallery: (3-6-2022) MBB at Colgate, 3/6/2022
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Two big Raiders' first-half runs (16-2 and 14-2) proved to be critical, as Lehigh could never get back in it.
Â
"Against Colgate, you have to be able to score the basketball and you have to be able to do it efficiently," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "We got shots up on our possessions, but it just seemed like we were reactionary, a little bit slower and it seemed like our guys didn't have that same juice. I'm looking at the first half, which was the biggest difference in the game, because I thought the fight was there in the second half. You need to be able to convert on shots and we just didn't."
Â
Higgins shot 7-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Wilson finished 5-of-11 from the field and 1-of-4 from three. Seniors Jeameril Wilson and Nic Lynch each scored nine points.
Three Colgate players finished in double figures on Sunday. Jack Ferguson led the team with 17 points, finishing 4-of-5 from behind the arc.Patriot League Semifinal 📹
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) March 6, 2022
What a ride by this group. The future is bright. pic.twitter.com/bUY2D7bvWs
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Lehigh got off to a slow start, falling behind 5-0 within the first two and half minutes. Higgins scored the first basket of the game to get the Mountain Hawks on the board, in a sign of things to come for the All-Rookie team member.
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That Higgins basket sparked a 7-0 Lehigh run to tie the score at seven before the under-12 media timeout. Colgate responded with a 16-2 run of its own, as the Raiders turned a 7-5 Mountain Hawks' advantage into a 21-9 Colgate lead.
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Dominic Parolin responded, scoring seven of his eight points in the first half. Parolin finished the game 1-of-2 from three and 3-of-4 at the free throw line. He scored seven points in Lehigh's 12-3 run that pulled the Mountain Hawks within 24-21 with 6:10 on the first-half clock. However, the Raiders responded with a 14-2 run, on the way to the 38-26 halftime lead.
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Colgate continued to assert itself throughout the second half, extending its lead to 20 with eight minutes remaining, despite numerous Lehigh surges in which the Raiders answered.
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The Mountain Hawks had one last-gasp run in them. Lehigh went on a 9-0 run to trim the deficit to 12 points with 5:56 remaining. Marques Wilson contributed six points in the run and Higgins made his third three-point field goal of the game as well.
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The Raiders extended their lead, and hit 10 free throws in the game's final 1:39, on the way to the victory.
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Lehigh shot 34.9 percent for the game (22-of-63) and 30.4 percent from 3-point range (7-of-23) in its final game of the season. Colgate finished 49.2 percent from the field (29-of-59) and 44.4 percent from three (8-of-18). The Raiders dominated in the paint, scoring 42 of their 81 points. Colgate held a 43-32 edge in rebounds.
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"I need to separate the disappointment of this game, because I would've liked us to play better, but when you look at the totality of the season, there were so many positive things that came out of working with these young men," said Reed. "It wasn't always easy. But our guys stayed the course and continued to work and continued to fight. A lot of teams can't survive the lack of wins we had earlier in the year and then still maintain chemistry, maintain the enjoyment and the fun of playing and just the overall family feel that we have. It says a lot about these guys and their characters. Â
Â
"When these kids look back at their experience over the course of this past year, they are going to have a lot of fond memories," Reed continued. "They're going to know they were well cared for, they were going to know that they were loved and they're going to feel that sense of community, a sense of teamwork and a sense of friendship from sharing the moment with these other guys, like they have ever since the beginning of the season."
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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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Team Stats
Lehigh
Colg
FG%
.349
.492
3FG%
.304
.444
FT%
.909
.714
RB
32
43
TO
9
10
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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