Tuesday, November 26
Loretto, Pa.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
1-5,0-0Patriot
78
at
88
Saint Francis University
3-5,0-0NEC
1
2
F
Lehigh
36
42
78
Saint Francis
55
33
88
Photo by: Clark Boinis
Comeback Effort Falls Short In 88-78 Loss At Saint Francis
11/26/2024 10:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LORETTO, Pa. – Lehigh men's basketball squared off against a familiar foe on Tuesday evening, making the trip west to visit the Saint Francis Red Flash. The Mountain Hawks came back from a 19-point first half deficit to tie the game, but ultimately fell 88-78 in their sixth outing of the season.
"I thought our guys played with more intensity and more determination in the second half, and obviously the scoreboard reflected it," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "I felt like in the first half, we were on our heels. They were beating us to loose balls and getting offensive rebounds. Ultimately, there were so many second-effort type of plays in the first half that we weren't making that we ended up making in the second half."
Lehigh (1-5) and Saint Francis (3-5) have met every year consecutively since 2007, with the exception of the shortened 2020-21 season. Lehigh holds the all-time advantage 12-9, but the Red Flash have now won each of the past two meetings, including a narrow 62-61 win at Stabler Arena last season.
The Red Flash found an offensive spark in the first half, as Saint Francis put up impressive splits in the opening frame. Saint Francis shot 60.5% from the field and 42.9% from three to go along with a 23-11 advantage on the glass. The Mountain Hawks kept up with the Red Flash offensively to start the game, highlighted by eight points from senior Keith Higgins Jr. in the first four minutes of action. However, Saint Francis continued to find high-percentage shots and converted them at a high rate, resulting in a 55-36 advantage for them at the break.
The Mountain Hawks responded well in the second half, slowly but surely chipping into the Saint Francis lead throughout the first ten minutes. A Tyler Whitney-Sidney triple cut the lead to single digits with under nine to play in the game, setting the score at 68-61. Lehigh continued to rally down the stretch, fueled by tight defense and offense in transition. Ben Knostman knocked down his first three of the night with 2:19 to play and Cam Gillus followed that up with a layup to tie the game at 78-78 with under two to play. Despite their improbable comeback effort, Saint Francis capitalized off of late misses and turnovers to escape with the win.
"The assertiveness that we had in the second half wasn't necessarily there at the end of the game," said Reed.
After trailing by 19 in the first half, the Mountain Hawks outscored the Red Flash 42-33 in the second. Lehigh shot 47.6% from the field and 32.1% from three for the game versus Saint Francis' 54.8% and 36.0%. Lehigh also outrebounded Saint Francis in the second half, but lost the battle on the boards 37-29 overall.
"Our defense created offense for us in the second half, which was beautiful," said Reed. "We have to recognize when help defenders come over and try to slap at the ball that we don't cough it up… If we're going to drive, we can't let people knock it out of our hands. We've got to be stronger with the ball and show that same kind of determination we saw in the second half."
The Mountain Hawks were paced by senior Tyler Whitney-Sidney, who reached a season-high 21 points on an 8-15 shooting clip. Tuesday night marked the 14th time that Whitney-Sidney has eclipsed 20+ points in his career and the sixth consecutive game he has scored in double-digits to begin the season. The senior also added a team-high six rebounds as well as two assists.
Higgins put up 18 points with four made triples to extend his streak of double-digit scoring to five games. Gillus was the third Mountain Hawk to reach double figures in the loss, tallying 15 points on an efficient 7-10 clip from the field.
The Mountain Hawks will return to Stabler Arena on Saturday, November 30 to battle the Marist College Red Foxes. 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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"I thought our guys played with more intensity and more determination in the second half, and obviously the scoreboard reflected it," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "I felt like in the first half, we were on our heels. They were beating us to loose balls and getting offensive rebounds. Ultimately, there were so many second-effort type of plays in the first half that we weren't making that we ended up making in the second half."
Lehigh (1-5) and Saint Francis (3-5) have met every year consecutively since 2007, with the exception of the shortened 2020-21 season. Lehigh holds the all-time advantage 12-9, but the Red Flash have now won each of the past two meetings, including a narrow 62-61 win at Stabler Arena last season.
The Red Flash found an offensive spark in the first half, as Saint Francis put up impressive splits in the opening frame. Saint Francis shot 60.5% from the field and 42.9% from three to go along with a 23-11 advantage on the glass. The Mountain Hawks kept up with the Red Flash offensively to start the game, highlighted by eight points from senior Keith Higgins Jr. in the first four minutes of action. However, Saint Francis continued to find high-percentage shots and converted them at a high rate, resulting in a 55-36 advantage for them at the break.
The Mountain Hawks responded well in the second half, slowly but surely chipping into the Saint Francis lead throughout the first ten minutes. A Tyler Whitney-Sidney triple cut the lead to single digits with under nine to play in the game, setting the score at 68-61. Lehigh continued to rally down the stretch, fueled by tight defense and offense in transition. Ben Knostman knocked down his first three of the night with 2:19 to play and Cam Gillus followed that up with a layup to tie the game at 78-78 with under two to play. Despite their improbable comeback effort, Saint Francis capitalized off of late misses and turnovers to escape with the win.
"The assertiveness that we had in the second half wasn't necessarily there at the end of the game," said Reed.
After trailing by 19 in the first half, the Mountain Hawks outscored the Red Flash 42-33 in the second. Lehigh shot 47.6% from the field and 32.1% from three for the game versus Saint Francis' 54.8% and 36.0%. Lehigh also outrebounded Saint Francis in the second half, but lost the battle on the boards 37-29 overall.
"Our defense created offense for us in the second half, which was beautiful," said Reed. "We have to recognize when help defenders come over and try to slap at the ball that we don't cough it up… If we're going to drive, we can't let people knock it out of our hands. We've got to be stronger with the ball and show that same kind of determination we saw in the second half."
The Mountain Hawks were paced by senior Tyler Whitney-Sidney, who reached a season-high 21 points on an 8-15 shooting clip. Tuesday night marked the 14th time that Whitney-Sidney has eclipsed 20+ points in his career and the sixth consecutive game he has scored in double-digits to begin the season. The senior also added a team-high six rebounds as well as two assists.
Higgins put up 18 points with four made triples to extend his streak of double-digit scoring to five games. Gillus was the third Mountain Hawk to reach double figures in the loss, tallying 15 points on an efficient 7-10 clip from the field.
The Mountain Hawks will return to Stabler Arena on Saturday, November 30 to battle the Marist College Red Foxes. 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
SF-PA
FG%
.476
.548
3FG%
.321
.360
FT%
.750
.786
RB
29
37
TO
10
10
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
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