Saturday, December 30
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
3-8,0-0Patriot
65
at
58
Marist College
7-4,2-0MAAC
1
2
F
Lehigh
29
36
65
Marist
33
25
58
Photo by: Ryan Levine
Career-Night From Momah Leads Lehigh To 65-58 Win Over Marist
12/30/2023 6:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – A career-night from sophomore Bube Momah and a stringent Mountain Hawk defense helped Lehigh defeat Marist by a score of 65-58 on Saturday afternoon. Lehigh's tilt against the Red Foxes was their final contest prior to the start of Patriot League play.
"Today was really about grit and toughness," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "I'm really proud of our guys for that. They posted on rebounds; they didn't give Marist a lot of second-chance opportunities… When you see a team that has that kind of grit and determination, being able to seal the game at the free throw line becomes a bit easier because they've already been in challenging situations."
The win marked the first road victory of the season for Lehigh (3-8) and the team's third win overall on the year. Marist (7-4) claimed its second consecutive loss and fourth overall in 2023-24.
The Mountain Hawks and Red Foxes have squared off against one another eight times and Lehigh has now come away with a win in all eight contests. The two teams met a season ago in Bethlehem, resulting in a 64-54 win for Lehigh.
Marist, who owns the ninth ranked scoring defense in the nation, certainly gave the Mountain Hawks problems in the first half. The Red Foxes held Lehigh to only 29 points on 41.7% from the field in the opening frame. However, the Mountain Hawks matched Marist's intensity on the defensive end, holding the Red Foxes to 38.7% in the first half while only conceding a four-point lead headed into the locker room.
Three-pointers helped keep Marist in the game in the first half, most notably from Josh Pascarelli, who knocked down four in the first stanza. Despite the hot start, Lehigh held Marist to 0-11 three-point shooting in the second half and only allowed 25 total points from the Red Foxes in the final 20 minutes.
Momah was instrumental for the Mountain Hawks on a night where Lehigh was without senior Dominic Parolin in the frontcourt. He eclipsed double-digits for the fifth time in his career, scoring a personal-best of 19 points. His performance from the free throw line, which included a 9-11 clip and four in the final 30 seconds, was crucial down the stretch for Lehigh. The sophomore added seven rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal in the win.
"Bube had an excellent game for us, and he really needed to step up especially with us not having Dominic Parolin available," said Reed. "He's a guy that I think we can throw the ball inside to and have some positive offensive production, and tonight he demonstrated it. When you go for 19 and seven and draw eight fouls, that's a pretty impressive night."
"The biggest thing for me in not having Dom was just to be a big presence," said Momah. "Normally I play the four spot, but I wanted to make an emphasis of playing the five and doing the best I could in that role."
Junior Keith Higgins Jr. joined Momah as the other Mountain Hawk student-athlete to reach double-figures, tallying 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Higgins Jr. knocked down a tough mid-range jumper with :54 remaining in the game that ultimately gave Lehigh the lead for good.
"Keith did a great job all night long rebounding the basketball," said Reed. "As much as anything, [our guards] are going to be noted for the way in which they rebounded the basketball and allowed us to end possessions."
Junior Tyler Whitney-Sidney scored eight points on only three total shot attempts in the game. Despite his low volume of scoring, the Preseason All-League selection found other ways to impact the game, dishing out a game-high four assists while grabbing six rebounds.
Lehigh found contributions from several first-year players in Saturday's win. Cam Gillus and Joshua Ingram each posted seven points, including three triples between the two. Nasir Whitlock also added one made three-pointer in 11 minutes of play.
Following the win, Lehigh will open the Patriot League season on the road at American this upcoming Wednesday, January 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from our nation's capital.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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"Today was really about grit and toughness," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "I'm really proud of our guys for that. They posted on rebounds; they didn't give Marist a lot of second-chance opportunities… When you see a team that has that kind of grit and determination, being able to seal the game at the free throw line becomes a bit easier because they've already been in challenging situations."
The win marked the first road victory of the season for Lehigh (3-8) and the team's third win overall on the year. Marist (7-4) claimed its second consecutive loss and fourth overall in 2023-24.
The Mountain Hawks and Red Foxes have squared off against one another eight times and Lehigh has now come away with a win in all eight contests. The two teams met a season ago in Bethlehem, resulting in a 64-54 win for Lehigh.
Marist, who owns the ninth ranked scoring defense in the nation, certainly gave the Mountain Hawks problems in the first half. The Red Foxes held Lehigh to only 29 points on 41.7% from the field in the opening frame. However, the Mountain Hawks matched Marist's intensity on the defensive end, holding the Red Foxes to 38.7% in the first half while only conceding a four-point lead headed into the locker room.
Three-pointers helped keep Marist in the game in the first half, most notably from Josh Pascarelli, who knocked down four in the first stanza. Despite the hot start, Lehigh held Marist to 0-11 three-point shooting in the second half and only allowed 25 total points from the Red Foxes in the final 20 minutes.
Momah was instrumental for the Mountain Hawks on a night where Lehigh was without senior Dominic Parolin in the frontcourt. He eclipsed double-digits for the fifth time in his career, scoring a personal-best of 19 points. His performance from the free throw line, which included a 9-11 clip and four in the final 30 seconds, was crucial down the stretch for Lehigh. The sophomore added seven rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal in the win.
"Bube had an excellent game for us, and he really needed to step up especially with us not having Dominic Parolin available," said Reed. "He's a guy that I think we can throw the ball inside to and have some positive offensive production, and tonight he demonstrated it. When you go for 19 and seven and draw eight fouls, that's a pretty impressive night."
"The biggest thing for me in not having Dom was just to be a big presence," said Momah. "Normally I play the four spot, but I wanted to make an emphasis of playing the five and doing the best I could in that role."
Junior Keith Higgins Jr. joined Momah as the other Mountain Hawk student-athlete to reach double-figures, tallying 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Higgins Jr. knocked down a tough mid-range jumper with :54 remaining in the game that ultimately gave Lehigh the lead for good.
"Keith did a great job all night long rebounding the basketball," said Reed. "As much as anything, [our guards] are going to be noted for the way in which they rebounded the basketball and allowed us to end possessions."
Junior Tyler Whitney-Sidney scored eight points on only three total shot attempts in the game. Despite his low volume of scoring, the Preseason All-League selection found other ways to impact the game, dishing out a game-high four assists while grabbing six rebounds.
Lehigh found contributions from several first-year players in Saturday's win. Cam Gillus and Joshua Ingram each posted seven points, including three triples between the two. Nasir Whitlock also added one made three-pointer in 11 minutes of play.
Following the win, Lehigh will open the Patriot League season on the road at American this upcoming Wednesday, January 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from our nation's capital.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Team Stats
Lehigh
Marist
FG%
.432
.349
3FG%
.389
.273
FT%
.667
.615
RB
39
33
TO
18
11
STL
6
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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