Saturday, February 4
Easton, Pa.
1:00 PM
Lehigh University
14-9,9-3Patriot
66
at
64
Lafayette
7-18,5-7Patriot
1
2
F
Lehigh
33
33
66
Lafayette
21
43
64
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Lehigh Claims Two-Point Victory over Rival Lafayette
2/4/2023 4:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EASTON, Pa. – As Lafayette's last-second shot rimmed out, the Lehigh men's basketball squad defeated Lafayette, 66-64, inside the Kirby Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.
Lehigh is now 14-9 overall and improves its Patriot League record to 9-3 as Lafayette falls to 7-18 on the year and 5-7 in league action. The Brown and White won their third straight game against the Leopards and took down the Leopards for the second time this season to sweep the series.
Lafayette opened the game by scoring the first basket before senior Evan Taylor drained a three-pointer to give Lehigh its first lead. Taylor scored his second trey to tie the game at 10-10 before the Mountain Hawks went on a 14-1 run to take a 13-point advantage at 24-11 with 7:15 to play in the half. Lehigh took its largest lead of the first half of 15 points, 28-13, and held a double-digit advantage into the locker room, 33-21.
The second half began with Lehigh extending its lead to 16 points, 47-31, but then the Leopards began chipping away. Lafayette got the score to under 10 points, 57-48 with 7:35 remaining, and took its first lead since early in the first half, 60-59, with just over two minutes to play. Following that, junior Dominic Parolin threw a dunk down to give the Mountain Hawks back their lead and pushed the advantage to five points, 65-60 with 1:07 on the clock.
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Lafayette's CJ Fulton knocked down a pair of free throws to cut its deficit to just three, followed by a steal on the next possession and Josh Rivera made a driving layup to get the Leopards within one, 65-64. Sophomore Keith Higgins Jr. was fouled, and made the front end of the two free throws, giving Lafayette an opportunity to win or tie. Off the ensuing rebound, Fulton got a shot off before the buzzer that bounced off the back of the rim and the Mountain Hawks come out on top.
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Taylor recorded his third double-double while leading the Mountain Hawks with 20 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 8-of-15 from the floor and making four of his five three-pointers. He also had one assist and a steal.
Higgins Jr. posted 14 points to go with a team-high six assists, one steal and a rebound while Parolin recorded 12 points, six boards, two of them being offensive rebounds, two assists and a steal.
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Sophomore Tyler Whitney-Sidney earned four of his nine points at the foul line, brought down five boards, dished out four assists and swiped a pair of steals. Junior JT Tan posted five points in his three minutes of action, going 3-for-3 at the charity stripe and making the lone shot he attempted while senior Jakob Alamudun scored his four points at the foul line, going 4-for-4. Rounding out the Mountain Hawks' scorers was senior Reed Fenton, who knocked down a tough fade away jump shot for his lone basket, but has recorded a charge in three consecutive games.
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Lafayette had four scorers in double-figures, led by Josh Rivera, who scored 23 points to go with nine rebounds. Â CJ Fulton, T.J. Berger, and Justin Vander Baan all scored 10 points apiece and the four Leopards combined for 53 of the squad's 64 points.
The Brown and White shot 39.6 percent (21-for-53) from the floor while shooting 35 percent (7-for-20) from long distance while Lafayette shot 37.5 percent (21-for-56) and 19.4 percent (6-for-31) from behind the three-point line.
Lehigh committed 10 turnovers that Lafayette turned into eight points while the Leopards were forced into 11 miscues that the Mountain Hawks turned into 12 points. The Brown and White were out-rebounded by Lafayette 38-34 and were edged, 26-24 in points in the paint.
The Mountain Hawks travel to Hamilton, N.Y on Wednesday, Feb. 8 to take on Colgate. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more. Single-game tickets are on sale HERE.
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Lehigh is now 14-9 overall and improves its Patriot League record to 9-3 as Lafayette falls to 7-18 on the year and 5-7 in league action. The Brown and White won their third straight game against the Leopards and took down the Leopards for the second time this season to sweep the series.
Lafayette opened the game by scoring the first basket before senior Evan Taylor drained a three-pointer to give Lehigh its first lead. Taylor scored his second trey to tie the game at 10-10 before the Mountain Hawks went on a 14-1 run to take a 13-point advantage at 24-11 with 7:15 to play in the half. Lehigh took its largest lead of the first half of 15 points, 28-13, and held a double-digit advantage into the locker room, 33-21.
The second half began with Lehigh extending its lead to 16 points, 47-31, but then the Leopards began chipping away. Lafayette got the score to under 10 points, 57-48 with 7:35 remaining, and took its first lead since early in the first half, 60-59, with just over two minutes to play. Following that, junior Dominic Parolin threw a dunk down to give the Mountain Hawks back their lead and pushed the advantage to five points, 65-60 with 1:07 on the clock.
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FLUSH!! Lehigh regains the lead after a Parolin dunk. Mountain Hawks are up 61-60 with under two minutes remaining. #GoLehigh #BeatLafayette
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 4, 2023
Watch on @PatriotLeagueTV and @ESPN - https://t.co/1rkyqzE6un pic.twitter.com/Hr7vW0QRYV
Lafayette's CJ Fulton knocked down a pair of free throws to cut its deficit to just three, followed by a steal on the next possession and Josh Rivera made a driving layup to get the Leopards within one, 65-64. Sophomore Keith Higgins Jr. was fouled, and made the front end of the two free throws, giving Lafayette an opportunity to win or tie. Off the ensuing rebound, Fulton got a shot off before the buzzer that bounced off the back of the rim and the Mountain Hawks come out on top.
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Taylor recorded his third double-double while leading the Mountain Hawks with 20 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 8-of-15 from the floor and making four of his five three-pointers. He also had one assist and a steal.
Higgins Jr. posted 14 points to go with a team-high six assists, one steal and a rebound while Parolin recorded 12 points, six boards, two of them being offensive rebounds, two assists and a steal.
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STEAL AND TRIPLE!! TWS gets a steal, followed by a trey from Higgins Jr. Lehigh's up 54-43 over rival Lafayette. #GoLehigh #BeatLafayette
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 4, 2023
Watch on @PatriotLeagueTV and @ESPN - https://t.co/1rkyqzE6un pic.twitter.com/7J0ODO5gDk
Sophomore Tyler Whitney-Sidney earned four of his nine points at the foul line, brought down five boards, dished out four assists and swiped a pair of steals. Junior JT Tan posted five points in his three minutes of action, going 3-for-3 at the charity stripe and making the lone shot he attempted while senior Jakob Alamudun scored his four points at the foul line, going 4-for-4. Rounding out the Mountain Hawks' scorers was senior Reed Fenton, who knocked down a tough fade away jump shot for his lone basket, but has recorded a charge in three consecutive games.
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TWS TREY!! An extra pass from Higgins Jr. finds a wide-open Whitney-Sidney for a triple. #GoLehigh #BeatLafayette
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) February 4, 2023
Watch on @patriotleaguetv and @espn - https://t.co/1rkyqzEEjV pic.twitter.com/mPQjbEL6WE
Lafayette had four scorers in double-figures, led by Josh Rivera, who scored 23 points to go with nine rebounds. Â CJ Fulton, T.J. Berger, and Justin Vander Baan all scored 10 points apiece and the four Leopards combined for 53 of the squad's 64 points.
The Brown and White shot 39.6 percent (21-for-53) from the floor while shooting 35 percent (7-for-20) from long distance while Lafayette shot 37.5 percent (21-for-56) and 19.4 percent (6-for-31) from behind the three-point line.
Lehigh committed 10 turnovers that Lafayette turned into eight points while the Leopards were forced into 11 miscues that the Mountain Hawks turned into 12 points. The Brown and White were out-rebounded by Lafayette 38-34 and were edged, 26-24 in points in the paint.
The Mountain Hawks travel to Hamilton, N.Y on Wednesday, Feb. 8 to take on Colgate. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more. Single-game tickets are on sale HERE.
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Team Stats
Lehigh
Laf
FG%
.396
.375
3FG%
.350
.194
FT%
.773
.696
RB
34
38
TO
10
11
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
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