Thursday, March 2
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
16-14,11-7Patriot
64
vs
71
Lafayette (Quarterfinal)
10-22,7-11Patriot
1
2
F
Lafayette
41
30
71
Lehigh
18
46
64
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks Fall to Lafayette in Patriot League Quarterfinals
3/2/2023 10:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's basketball concluded its season on Thursday evening when the Mountain Hawks suffered a 71-64 loss to rival Lafayette in the PenFed Credit Union Patriot League quarterfinals at Stabler Arena.
A hot start for Lafayette put the Leopards up by 17 points, 21-4, before the Mountain Hawks recorded their first basket with 11:35 to play in the first half. The Leopards extended their advantage to as many as 25 points with 1:27 remaining, 41-16. Lehigh would head into the locker room trailing 41-18.
The Brown and White scored four points to open the half before Lafayette extended their advantage back to 24 points, 46-22. After a Josh Rivera layup to put the Leopards ahead 49-26, Lehigh put together an 18-4 run to close the gap to single digits at 49-40. Lafayette pushed back in front by as many as 15 until the Mountain Hawks closed the gap to five points with under a minute to play. A late three-pointer from senior Evan Taylor cut the deficit back to five points, but Lafayette would earn the road victory with a 71-64 win.
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Senior Evan Taylor finished with 14 points, all scored in the second half, to go with six boards and an assist in his final game as a Mountain Hawk. Taylor finishes his career with 1,186 points and sits 26th all-time in program history. He eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in January to become the 39th player to do so.
Junior Dominic Parolin also finished in double-digits, scoring 13 points, and led the squad with seven boards, three of them being offensive, two blocks and two steals. The last member of the Mountain Hawks to score in double figures was sophomore Tyler Whitney-Sidney, contributing 11 points, four rebounds, two steals and an assist.
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Sophomore Keith Higgins tossed in nine points with two rebounds, a steal and one assist while junior JT Tan recorded eight points, two blocked shots and two boards. Junior Jalin Sinclair chipped in five points, led Lehigh with five assists, and grabbed four rebounds while seniors Jakob Alamudun and Reed Fenton both added two points.
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Lafayette had three scorers in double-figures, led by Josh Rivera's 24 points. Kyle Jenkins contributed 15 points, two blocks and two steals while Leo O'Boyle tallied 14 points and led the Leopards with nine rebounds.
Lehigh shot 38.2 percent (21-for-55) from the floor after shooting just 16.7 percent in the first half, and 35.7 percent (5-for-14) from long distance. Lafayette shot 45.1 percent (23-for-51) and 33. percent (7-for-21) from behind the three-point line.
Both squads committed 11 turnovers, with Lehigh scoring 13 points of Lafayette's miscues and the Leopards scoring 11. The Mountain Hawks were out-rebounded by Lafayette 37-32 but scored more points in the paint, 30-26.
Lehigh finishes the 2022-23 season with an overall record of 16-14 overall as the Leopards improve to 10-22 and snap a three-game losing streak to Lehigh. Lafayette now advances to the Patriot League semifinals and will host American University on Sunday at 4 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
Like Lehigh Men's Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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A hot start for Lafayette put the Leopards up by 17 points, 21-4, before the Mountain Hawks recorded their first basket with 11:35 to play in the first half. The Leopards extended their advantage to as many as 25 points with 1:27 remaining, 41-16. Lehigh would head into the locker room trailing 41-18.
The Brown and White scored four points to open the half before Lafayette extended their advantage back to 24 points, 46-22. After a Josh Rivera layup to put the Leopards ahead 49-26, Lehigh put together an 18-4 run to close the gap to single digits at 49-40. Lafayette pushed back in front by as many as 15 until the Mountain Hawks closed the gap to five points with under a minute to play. A late three-pointer from senior Evan Taylor cut the deficit back to five points, but Lafayette would earn the road victory with a 71-64 win.
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CORNER TREY!! ET drains a three in the corner-pocket! #GoLehigh
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) March 3, 2023
Watch on @PatriotLeagueTV and @ESPNhttps://t.co/1rkyqzE6un pic.twitter.com/fkFW8tpvDc
Senior Evan Taylor finished with 14 points, all scored in the second half, to go with six boards and an assist in his final game as a Mountain Hawk. Taylor finishes his career with 1,186 points and sits 26th all-time in program history. He eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in January to become the 39th player to do so.
Junior Dominic Parolin also finished in double-digits, scoring 13 points, and led the squad with seven boards, three of them being offensive, two blocks and two steals. The last member of the Mountain Hawks to score in double figures was sophomore Tyler Whitney-Sidney, contributing 11 points, four rebounds, two steals and an assist.
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COUNT IT!! TWS converts the layup with contact! Whitney-Sidney is now in double-digits with 11 points. #GoLehigh
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) March 3, 2023
Watch on @PatriotLeagueTV and @ESPNhttps://t.co/1rkyqzE6un pic.twitter.com/GgWON3Kqnx
Sophomore Keith Higgins tossed in nine points with two rebounds, a steal and one assist while junior JT Tan recorded eight points, two blocked shots and two boards. Junior Jalin Sinclair chipped in five points, led Lehigh with five assists, and grabbed four rebounds while seniors Jakob Alamudun and Reed Fenton both added two points.
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JT TAN BLOCK!! Tan denies Lafayette from a basket for his second block of the game. #GoLehigh
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) March 3, 2023
Watch on @PatriotLeagueTV and @ESPNhttps://t.co/1rkyqzE6un pic.twitter.com/tgR8FIqGbE
Lafayette had three scorers in double-figures, led by Josh Rivera's 24 points. Kyle Jenkins contributed 15 points, two blocks and two steals while Leo O'Boyle tallied 14 points and led the Leopards with nine rebounds.
Lehigh shot 38.2 percent (21-for-55) from the floor after shooting just 16.7 percent in the first half, and 35.7 percent (5-for-14) from long distance. Lafayette shot 45.1 percent (23-for-51) and 33. percent (7-for-21) from behind the three-point line.
Both squads committed 11 turnovers, with Lehigh scoring 13 points of Lafayette's miscues and the Leopards scoring 11. The Mountain Hawks were out-rebounded by Lafayette 37-32 but scored more points in the paint, 30-26.
Lehigh finishes the 2022-23 season with an overall record of 16-14 overall as the Leopards improve to 10-22 and snap a three-game losing streak to Lehigh. Lafayette now advances to the Patriot League semifinals and will host American University on Sunday at 4 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
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
Laf
Lehigh
FG%
.451
.382
3FG%
.333
.357
FT%
.750
.810
RB
37
32
TO
11
11
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF/C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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