Saturday, January 11
Bethlehem, Pa.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
6-9,1-3Patriot
69
vs
74
Army
8-8,2-2Patriot
1
2
F
Army West Point
33
41
74
Lehigh
31
38
69
Photo by: Clark Boinis
Lehigh Falls 74-69 In Closely Contested Battle With Army West Point
1/11/2025 6:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Four Mountain Hawks reached double-figures on Saturday afternoon at Stabler Arena for Lehigh men's basketball, but the visiting Army West Point Black Knights came away with a 74-69 away victory.
"It was really disappointing that we couldn't prevail," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "Every time we needed a key stop, somebody would drive by our first line of defense. Their points in the paint in the second half were just far too high."
Army West Point (8-8, 2-2 PL) has now won their previous two Patriot League contests, defeating Loyola Maryland 74-72 on Wednesday. Lehigh (6-9, 1-3) have now lost their last three Patriot League games after defeating Bucknell in overtime in the league opener. The Black Knights now lead the all-time series 71-49 against the Mountain Hawks and have won four of their last five meetings with Lehigh.
Wednesday's game remained close throughout, which was evident in the opening six minutes. The lead changed hands or was tied seven times to start off the game, and neither team led by more than four points for the entirety of the first half. The Mountain Hawks led 9-7 at 14:24 after first-year Hank Alvey converted inside before a personal 6-0 run from Army West Point's Jorn Everson put his team ahead by four. Buckets from sophomore Joshua Ingram, first-year Edouard Benoit and sophomore Nasir Whitlock helped Lehigh push back in front, but Army West Point continued to respond. Led by sophomore Josh Scovens, the Black Knights eventually regained the lead and held a 33-31 advantage at halftime.
Scovens opened the second half with a quick bucket, but an Ingram layup and Cam Gillus triple put Lehigh ahead 36-35. However, Gillus' three would be Lehigh's last of the entire game, as the Mountain Hawks went cold from distance down the stretch. The teams continued to trade the lead with one another for the first ten minutes of the half until back-to-back Jalen Rucker buckets put the Black Knights ahead by three at 9:24. Lehigh took a 56-55 lead after two Tyler Whitney-Sidney free throws with five minutes remaining in the game. However, a Ryan Curry layup and Scovens and-one gave Army West Point a lead that they wouldn't relinquish. Whitney-Sidney cut the Black Knight lead to three, but a Curry triple in transition put Army West Point up by six with a minute to play. Lehigh began to foul and ultimately was unable to mount a late comeback.
Both teams shot similar percentages from the field, as Lehigh shot 41.0% (25-61) to Army West Point's 44.1% (26-59). However, Lehigh's 12.5% (3-24) to 25.9% (7-27) from distance was a significant difference. The Black Knights narrowly edged the Mountain Hawks 36-33 on the glass while Lehigh (76.2%, 16-21) and Army West Point (71.4%, 15-21) were nearly identical from the free throw line. The Mountain Hawks did find a 40-36 advantage in points in the paint.
"I thought we got some good productivity around the basket with some creative post-ups," said Reed. "Hank Alvey gave us a couple field goals that were within range, Josh was finishing a little bit closer to the rim, Tyler was attacking once again, so we're always going to manufacture in a different way."
Leading the charge for Lehigh was Whitney-Sidney, who score 17 points on 6-11 shooting with four rebounds and two steals. Whitney-Sidney has now reached double-digit points in 11 games this season.
Whitlock finished the night with 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and the first block of his career. Ingram scored ten points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in his third consecutive start while Alvey scored 10 points in his third career double-digit outing.
Scovens scored a game-high 22 points on an efficient 7-10 from the field to go along with three blocks. Rucker joined him in double-figures with 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
The Mountain Hawks will head north to face the Boston University Terriers on Wednesday, January 15. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. from Case Gymnasium.
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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"It was really disappointing that we couldn't prevail," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "Every time we needed a key stop, somebody would drive by our first line of defense. Their points in the paint in the second half were just far too high."
Army West Point (8-8, 2-2 PL) has now won their previous two Patriot League contests, defeating Loyola Maryland 74-72 on Wednesday. Lehigh (6-9, 1-3) have now lost their last three Patriot League games after defeating Bucknell in overtime in the league opener. The Black Knights now lead the all-time series 71-49 against the Mountain Hawks and have won four of their last five meetings with Lehigh.
Wednesday's game remained close throughout, which was evident in the opening six minutes. The lead changed hands or was tied seven times to start off the game, and neither team led by more than four points for the entirety of the first half. The Mountain Hawks led 9-7 at 14:24 after first-year Hank Alvey converted inside before a personal 6-0 run from Army West Point's Jorn Everson put his team ahead by four. Buckets from sophomore Joshua Ingram, first-year Edouard Benoit and sophomore Nasir Whitlock helped Lehigh push back in front, but Army West Point continued to respond. Led by sophomore Josh Scovens, the Black Knights eventually regained the lead and held a 33-31 advantage at halftime.
Scovens opened the second half with a quick bucket, but an Ingram layup and Cam Gillus triple put Lehigh ahead 36-35. However, Gillus' three would be Lehigh's last of the entire game, as the Mountain Hawks went cold from distance down the stretch. The teams continued to trade the lead with one another for the first ten minutes of the half until back-to-back Jalen Rucker buckets put the Black Knights ahead by three at 9:24. Lehigh took a 56-55 lead after two Tyler Whitney-Sidney free throws with five minutes remaining in the game. However, a Ryan Curry layup and Scovens and-one gave Army West Point a lead that they wouldn't relinquish. Whitney-Sidney cut the Black Knight lead to three, but a Curry triple in transition put Army West Point up by six with a minute to play. Lehigh began to foul and ultimately was unable to mount a late comeback.
Both teams shot similar percentages from the field, as Lehigh shot 41.0% (25-61) to Army West Point's 44.1% (26-59). However, Lehigh's 12.5% (3-24) to 25.9% (7-27) from distance was a significant difference. The Black Knights narrowly edged the Mountain Hawks 36-33 on the glass while Lehigh (76.2%, 16-21) and Army West Point (71.4%, 15-21) were nearly identical from the free throw line. The Mountain Hawks did find a 40-36 advantage in points in the paint.
"I thought we got some good productivity around the basket with some creative post-ups," said Reed. "Hank Alvey gave us a couple field goals that were within range, Josh was finishing a little bit closer to the rim, Tyler was attacking once again, so we're always going to manufacture in a different way."
Leading the charge for Lehigh was Whitney-Sidney, who score 17 points on 6-11 shooting with four rebounds and two steals. Whitney-Sidney has now reached double-digit points in 11 games this season.
Whitlock finished the night with 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and the first block of his career. Ingram scored ten points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in his third consecutive start while Alvey scored 10 points in his third career double-digit outing.
Scovens scored a game-high 22 points on an efficient 7-10 from the field to go along with three blocks. Rucker joined him in double-figures with 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
The Mountain Hawks will head north to face the Boston University Terriers on Wednesday, January 15. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. from Case Gymnasium.
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
ARM
Lehigh
FG%
.441
.410
3FG%
.259
.125
FT%
.714
.762
RB
36
33
TO
13
9
STL
3
7
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F/C
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F
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