Friday, November 10
University Park, Pa.
7:30 PM
Lehigh University
0-2,0-0Patriot
65
at
74
Penn State University
2-0,0-0Big Ten
1
2
F
Lehigh
38
27
65
Penn St.
38
36
74
Photo by: Eric Mehlman
Mountain Hawks Compete In 74-65 Loss At Penn State
11/10/2023 11:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Lehigh men's basketball kicked off its two-game road-stand on Friday night, traveling west to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Mountain Hawks competed wire-to-wire against their Big Ten foe, but ultimately fell by a score of 74-65.
"I thought our team really established itself, particularly in the first half," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "Penn State came to play. We started the game on a really positive run, our guys held their composure, continued to fight, and I'm proud of them for that."
The meeting marked the first time the two teams have met since the 2010-11 season when Lehigh fell 70-56 despite leading at half. Friday's contest was once again a tightly-contested affair, and this time around that intensity prevailed for the entirety of the game.
Lehigh (0-2) and Penn State (2-0) proved to be very evenly matched teams, as the Mountain Hawks and Nittany Lions found themselves tied 38-38 after one half of play. The two teams shot nearly identical percentages from the field and each hauled in 18 rebounds in the opening frame. The main difference between the two was three-point and free throw percentages, with Penn State shooting 42% to Lehigh's 25% from deep and the Mountain Hawks 88% from the charity stripe besting the Nittany Lions' 60% in the first half.
The score remained close deep into the second half. The Nittany Lions began to employ a stringent press defense throughout the final 20 minutes that proved to be effective. Penn State forced ten Lehigh turnovers in the second half, turning those takeaways into ten points of their own. Penn State's active and opportunistic defense helped pave the way for their win.
For the second consecutive game, the Mountain Hawks out-rebounded and scored more points in the paint than their opponent.
Keith Higgins Jr. held the hot hand for Lehigh, scoring 23 points on 56% shooting from the field. The junior came alive in the second half, adding 14 points in the second stanza. Higgins also led the Mountain Hawks on the glass with eight rebounds.
"It was really good to see Keith Higgins Jr. have a good game," said Reed. "He is such a competitor. He was a little hard on himself after that last game, and I'm really proud of him for being able to shake it off and trust his preparation and be very confident because he ended up providing us a very nice scoring punch."
First-year Cam Gillus made his season-debut for the Mountain Hawks, playing 23 minutes off the bench. Gillus tallied seven points, three rebounds, a steal, and led Lehigh with three assists off the bench.
"What stood out to me was [Cam's] ability to move his feet, slide laterally, and play defense," said Reed. "He impacted that game with his defensive presence. Penn State's got some really good guards… Cam looked the part out there."
Junior Ben Knostman played 21 minutes in the loss, registering a team-high +13 plus/minus while he was on the floor. Senior JT Tan provided a steady presence in the post, scoring six points while shooting 4-4 from the free throw line. Sophomore Bube Momah added eight points in 23 minutes while shooting 4-4 from the line himself for the second straight game.
The Mountain Hawks have a quick turnaround in front of them, as the team is slated to face off against #19 North Carolina on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. from the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill.
"Our guys gave good effort and energy today," said Reed. "I'm sure they're going to be a little depleted as far as their energy, but we're also playing more guys, so there's more options to potentially throw out on the floor [on Sunday]."
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
"I thought our team really established itself, particularly in the first half," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "Penn State came to play. We started the game on a really positive run, our guys held their composure, continued to fight, and I'm proud of them for that."
The meeting marked the first time the two teams have met since the 2010-11 season when Lehigh fell 70-56 despite leading at half. Friday's contest was once again a tightly-contested affair, and this time around that intensity prevailed for the entirety of the game.
Lehigh (0-2) and Penn State (2-0) proved to be very evenly matched teams, as the Mountain Hawks and Nittany Lions found themselves tied 38-38 after one half of play. The two teams shot nearly identical percentages from the field and each hauled in 18 rebounds in the opening frame. The main difference between the two was three-point and free throw percentages, with Penn State shooting 42% to Lehigh's 25% from deep and the Mountain Hawks 88% from the charity stripe besting the Nittany Lions' 60% in the first half.
The score remained close deep into the second half. The Nittany Lions began to employ a stringent press defense throughout the final 20 minutes that proved to be effective. Penn State forced ten Lehigh turnovers in the second half, turning those takeaways into ten points of their own. Penn State's active and opportunistic defense helped pave the way for their win.
For the second consecutive game, the Mountain Hawks out-rebounded and scored more points in the paint than their opponent.
Keith Higgins Jr. held the hot hand for Lehigh, scoring 23 points on 56% shooting from the field. The junior came alive in the second half, adding 14 points in the second stanza. Higgins also led the Mountain Hawks on the glass with eight rebounds.
"It was really good to see Keith Higgins Jr. have a good game," said Reed. "He is such a competitor. He was a little hard on himself after that last game, and I'm really proud of him for being able to shake it off and trust his preparation and be very confident because he ended up providing us a very nice scoring punch."
First-year Cam Gillus made his season-debut for the Mountain Hawks, playing 23 minutes off the bench. Gillus tallied seven points, three rebounds, a steal, and led Lehigh with three assists off the bench.
"What stood out to me was [Cam's] ability to move his feet, slide laterally, and play defense," said Reed. "He impacted that game with his defensive presence. Penn State's got some really good guards… Cam looked the part out there."
Junior Ben Knostman played 21 minutes in the loss, registering a team-high +13 plus/minus while he was on the floor. Senior JT Tan provided a steady presence in the post, scoring six points while shooting 4-4 from the free throw line. Sophomore Bube Momah added eight points in 23 minutes while shooting 4-4 from the line himself for the second straight game.
The Mountain Hawks have a quick turnaround in front of them, as the team is slated to face off against #19 North Carolina on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. from the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill.
"Our guys gave good effort and energy today," said Reed. "I'm sure they're going to be a little depleted as far as their energy, but we're also playing more guys, so there's more options to potentially throw out on the floor [on Sunday]."
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
Lehigh
PSU
FG%
.381
.453
3FG%
.231
.304
FT%
.737
.750
RB
40
38
TO
14
15
STL
9
11
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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