Saturday, January 27
Worcester, Mass.
12:00 PM
Lehigh University
6-13,3-5Patriot
78
at
72
Holy Cross
5-16,2-6Patriot
1
2
F
Lehigh
38
40
78
Holy Cross
38
34
72
Photo by: Clark Boinis
Lehigh Earns 78-72 Road Victory Over Holy Cross
1/27/2024 4:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WORCESTER, Mass. – For the second straight game, Lehigh laced up their shoes in front of a national audience, traveling to Holy Cross to take on the Crusaders on CBS Sports Network. A career night from forward Burke Chebuhar led the way for the Mountain Hawks in their 78-72 team victory on Saturday afternoon.
The Mountain Hawks (6-13, 3-5 PL) split the season series against the Crusaders (5-16, 2-6 PL) after Holy Cross picked up a 69-66 overtime win in Stabler Arena on January 13. Lehigh is now 7-3 in their last ten matchups against Holy Cross and has won each of the past two meetings in Worcester.
Saturday's game saw the lead change hands 16 times in what truly was a back-and-forth affair. The Mountain Hawks began the game attacking inside the paint, as four of Lehigh's first seven successful offensive possessions came by way of Chebuhar's inside presence. However, Holy Cross jumped ahead to a 20-12 lead in the same time span. Lehigh continued to attack the paint and began getting stops on the other end, resulting in a Tyler Whitney-Sidney breakaway dunk to put the Mountain Hawks up by three at the 4:59 mark of the opening frame. Multiple threes from Joshua Ingram and Whitney-Sidney helped Lehigh build their lead, but a late 9-3 run in the final three minutes allowed Holy Cross to tie the contest 38-38 headed into the locker room.
Just as one team started to find a rhythm in the second half, the other answered adequately. Holy Cross opened the final stanza on an 8-4 run before Lehigh responded with a 15-8 run over the next five minutes of gameplay. The game remained within one possession for both sides until the 4:29 mark when a Joe Octave free throw put the Crusaders up by four. From this point on, the Mountain Hawks offense took off, outscoring Holy Cross 14-4 in the final four minutes of gameplay. Outside of an Ingram triple, the entirety of Lehigh's run was made at the free throw line, a place where they shot 17-24 in their previous outing. Lehigh's excellence from the line helped them gain and hold onto the lead in the closing moments.
Lehigh outrebounded Holy Cross by an impressive 42-30 margin on the day, which included eight offensive boards. The Mountain Hawks' excellence on the glass combined with a 14-17 clip from the free throw line in the second half made the difference down the stretch.
Chebuhar finished the night with a career-high 20 points, 10 rebounds, an assist and a block on a 77.8% shooting from the field. The big man from Marietta, Georgia recorded his second career double-double in a moment where his team desperately needed a win.
"Burke gave us a terrific game. The matchup advantage was Burke against an undersized forward, and Burke capitalized," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "He was able to remain confident and finish the plays and make key plays that helped us win on the road."
"Our gameplan going in was to try and be physical down low and get those paint shots," said Chebuhar. "I had a couple go early, so teammates kept finding me and I felt confident and kept making it work."
Also recording an excellent game was the Massachusetts native Whitney-Sidney, who scored 19 points to go along with four rebounds and two assists in front of dozens of his family and friends in attendance.
"[Tyler's] been able to focus on being the best version of himself for his teammates," said Reed. "As proud as I am of him for putting up 19 points and playing well, I'm prouder of his mental disposition and the way he maintained emotional control."
Ingram finished the night with 14 points, tying a career-high that he has reached on two other occasions this season. The rookie hauled in seven rebounds and knocked down a career-best three triples in the win.
"I thought Josh's confidence was on full display," said Reed. "Not only did he make key plays and made big shots, he played with an aggressive mentality."
First-year Cam Gillus played efficiently in his third consecutive start, tallying eight points on 3-5 shooting with six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
"Cam's defense on the ball was really critical," said Reed. "In our last game against Holy Cross, we struggled against dribble penetration from the top coming off of pick and roll or ball-screen offense. Cam did a very good job of helping us neutralize that a little bit to the point where we could be competitive and garner stops."
Dominic Parolin also scored eight points in 15 minutes off the bench, doing so with a solid 4-6 mark from the field. Bube Momah and Nasir Whitlock also scored for the Mountain Hawks in the win.
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Wednesday, January 31 from Stabler Arena for Salute to Service Night against Navy, presented by Weis Markets. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Bethlehem.
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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The Mountain Hawks (6-13, 3-5 PL) split the season series against the Crusaders (5-16, 2-6 PL) after Holy Cross picked up a 69-66 overtime win in Stabler Arena on January 13. Lehigh is now 7-3 in their last ten matchups against Holy Cross and has won each of the past two meetings in Worcester.
Saturday's game saw the lead change hands 16 times in what truly was a back-and-forth affair. The Mountain Hawks began the game attacking inside the paint, as four of Lehigh's first seven successful offensive possessions came by way of Chebuhar's inside presence. However, Holy Cross jumped ahead to a 20-12 lead in the same time span. Lehigh continued to attack the paint and began getting stops on the other end, resulting in a Tyler Whitney-Sidney breakaway dunk to put the Mountain Hawks up by three at the 4:59 mark of the opening frame. Multiple threes from Joshua Ingram and Whitney-Sidney helped Lehigh build their lead, but a late 9-3 run in the final three minutes allowed Holy Cross to tie the contest 38-38 headed into the locker room.
Just as one team started to find a rhythm in the second half, the other answered adequately. Holy Cross opened the final stanza on an 8-4 run before Lehigh responded with a 15-8 run over the next five minutes of gameplay. The game remained within one possession for both sides until the 4:29 mark when a Joe Octave free throw put the Crusaders up by four. From this point on, the Mountain Hawks offense took off, outscoring Holy Cross 14-4 in the final four minutes of gameplay. Outside of an Ingram triple, the entirety of Lehigh's run was made at the free throw line, a place where they shot 17-24 in their previous outing. Lehigh's excellence from the line helped them gain and hold onto the lead in the closing moments.
Lehigh outrebounded Holy Cross by an impressive 42-30 margin on the day, which included eight offensive boards. The Mountain Hawks' excellence on the glass combined with a 14-17 clip from the free throw line in the second half made the difference down the stretch.
Chebuhar finished the night with a career-high 20 points, 10 rebounds, an assist and a block on a 77.8% shooting from the field. The big man from Marietta, Georgia recorded his second career double-double in a moment where his team desperately needed a win.
"Burke gave us a terrific game. The matchup advantage was Burke against an undersized forward, and Burke capitalized," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "He was able to remain confident and finish the plays and make key plays that helped us win on the road."
"Our gameplan going in was to try and be physical down low and get those paint shots," said Chebuhar. "I had a couple go early, so teammates kept finding me and I felt confident and kept making it work."
Also recording an excellent game was the Massachusetts native Whitney-Sidney, who scored 19 points to go along with four rebounds and two assists in front of dozens of his family and friends in attendance.
"[Tyler's] been able to focus on being the best version of himself for his teammates," said Reed. "As proud as I am of him for putting up 19 points and playing well, I'm prouder of his mental disposition and the way he maintained emotional control."
Ingram finished the night with 14 points, tying a career-high that he has reached on two other occasions this season. The rookie hauled in seven rebounds and knocked down a career-best three triples in the win.
"I thought Josh's confidence was on full display," said Reed. "Not only did he make key plays and made big shots, he played with an aggressive mentality."
First-year Cam Gillus played efficiently in his third consecutive start, tallying eight points on 3-5 shooting with six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
"Cam's defense on the ball was really critical," said Reed. "In our last game against Holy Cross, we struggled against dribble penetration from the top coming off of pick and roll or ball-screen offense. Cam did a very good job of helping us neutralize that a little bit to the point where we could be competitive and garner stops."
Dominic Parolin also scored eight points in 15 minutes off the bench, doing so with a solid 4-6 mark from the field. Bube Momah and Nasir Whitlock also scored for the Mountain Hawks in the win.
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Wednesday, January 31 from Stabler Arena for Salute to Service Night against Navy, presented by Weis Markets. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Bethlehem.
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
HolyCr
FG%
.482
.456
3FG%
.300
.350
FT%
.667
.684
RB
42
30
TO
11
10
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
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