Saturday, January 18
Bethlehem, Pa.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
6-11,1-5Patriot
60
vs
76
Loyola University Maryland
8-9,3-3Patriot
1
2
F
Loyola Maryland
31
45
76
Lehigh
33
27
60
Photo by: Cece Ravenelle
Second Half Surge Propels Loyola Maryland Past Lehigh 76-60
1/18/2025 5:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh men's basketball welcomed the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds to Stabler Arena on Saturday for Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day, presented by Rich Mar Florist. The Mountain Hawks led after the first half, but ultimately fell by a score of 76-60.
Lehigh (6-11, 1-5 PL) and Loyola (8-9, 3-3 PL) met earlier this month in Baltimore, which resulted in an 80-74 win for the Greyhounds. Loyola has now won their last two meetings with Lehigh and have won six of the last ten matchups between the two schools.
Neither team generated much distance between the other in the first half, as it was neck-and-neck for the majority of the frame. Loyola opened the game with a quick four points in the first minute, but Lehigh responded to take a 6-4 lead. First-year Edouard Benoit paced the Mountain Hawks with nine points in the first ten minutes of action, helping his team remain ahead. The lead changed hands ten times in the first half, and thanks to back-to-back triples from sophomore Nasir Whitlock, Lehigh entered the locker room ahead 33-31.
The Greyhounds took a quick 34-33 lead to begin the second half, but the Mountain Hawks regained the lead off of a Hank Alvey poster dunk at the 17:29 mark. From there, Loyola began to put their foot on the gas pedal offensively. The Greyhounds outscored the Mountain Hawks 42-25 the rest of the way, shot a lights out 58.3% from three and forced nine Lehigh turnovers in the frame. Loyola also controlled the boards in the second half 20-9, which included five offensive rebounds. A Veljko Ilic layup with 30 seconds remaining gave the Greyhounds their largest lead of 16 points, which would be the margin as time expired.
Lehigh shot 47.9% (23-48) from the field and a much improved 43.8% (7-16) from three in the game while Loyola shot 50.0% from both the field (29-58) and three (11-22). The Greyhounds outrebounded the Mountain Hawks 35-22.
Benoit scored a new career-high 15 points on the afternoon while grabbing four rebounds and knocking down two threes. Sophomore Cam Gillus matched him with 15 points to go along with three assists and two rebounds. Making his first-career start, Whitlock reached double-figures for the fourth consecutive game with 10.
"Edouard gave us great opportunity to put some points on the board," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "He was scoring on the inside, he was knocking down perimeter shots, they ended up having to adjust to him."
Five Greyhounds scored in double-figures, led by Veljko Ilic with 15. Milos Ilic posted 14 points while Tyson Commander, Jacob Theodosiou and Jordan Stiemke all scored 12 points.
The Mountain Hawks head to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, January 22 to take on the American Eagles. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Bender Arena.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Â
Lehigh (6-11, 1-5 PL) and Loyola (8-9, 3-3 PL) met earlier this month in Baltimore, which resulted in an 80-74 win for the Greyhounds. Loyola has now won their last two meetings with Lehigh and have won six of the last ten matchups between the two schools.
Neither team generated much distance between the other in the first half, as it was neck-and-neck for the majority of the frame. Loyola opened the game with a quick four points in the first minute, but Lehigh responded to take a 6-4 lead. First-year Edouard Benoit paced the Mountain Hawks with nine points in the first ten minutes of action, helping his team remain ahead. The lead changed hands ten times in the first half, and thanks to back-to-back triples from sophomore Nasir Whitlock, Lehigh entered the locker room ahead 33-31.
The Greyhounds took a quick 34-33 lead to begin the second half, but the Mountain Hawks regained the lead off of a Hank Alvey poster dunk at the 17:29 mark. From there, Loyola began to put their foot on the gas pedal offensively. The Greyhounds outscored the Mountain Hawks 42-25 the rest of the way, shot a lights out 58.3% from three and forced nine Lehigh turnovers in the frame. Loyola also controlled the boards in the second half 20-9, which included five offensive rebounds. A Veljko Ilic layup with 30 seconds remaining gave the Greyhounds their largest lead of 16 points, which would be the margin as time expired.
Lehigh shot 47.9% (23-48) from the field and a much improved 43.8% (7-16) from three in the game while Loyola shot 50.0% from both the field (29-58) and three (11-22). The Greyhounds outrebounded the Mountain Hawks 35-22.
Benoit scored a new career-high 15 points on the afternoon while grabbing four rebounds and knocking down two threes. Sophomore Cam Gillus matched him with 15 points to go along with three assists and two rebounds. Making his first-career start, Whitlock reached double-figures for the fourth consecutive game with 10.
"Edouard gave us great opportunity to put some points on the board," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "He was scoring on the inside, he was knocking down perimeter shots, they ended up having to adjust to him."
Five Greyhounds scored in double-figures, led by Veljko Ilic with 15. Milos Ilic posted 14 points while Tyson Commander, Jacob Theodosiou and Jordan Stiemke all scored 12 points.
The Mountain Hawks head to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, January 22 to take on the American Eagles. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Bender Arena.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Â
Team Stats
Loyola
Lehigh
FG%
.500
.479
3FG%
.500
.438
FT%
.583
.700
RB
35
22
TO
10
13
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballSeason Preview: Men's Basketball
Thursday, October 31
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, October 30
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, February 07
Men's Basketball vs SUNY Oneonta
Thursday, November 16
