Saturday, January 25
Bethlehem, Pa.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
7-12,2-6Patriot
86
vs
47
Lafayette College
8-13,3-5Patriot
1
2
F
Lafayette
21
26
47
Lehigh
43
43
86
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Lehigh Routs Lafayette 86-47 In The Rivalry
1/25/2025 11:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh men's basketball squared off against Lafayette College at Stabler Arena on Saturday evening in the season's first installment of The Rivalry, presented by Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute. The Mountain Hawks led by 22 after the first half and never looked back, routing the Leopards 86-47 to snap a six-game losing skid.
Lehigh (7-12, 2-6 PL) and Lafayette share one of the NCAA's most storied rivalries, having first met in the 1901-02 season. The Leopards lead the all-time series 149-98, but the Mountain Hawks have now won each of the last four meetings between the two rivals. Head coach Dr. Brett Reed now owns a 27-14 record all-time against Lafayette.
The Mountain Hawks were locked in offensively to start the game, going 4-4 from the field to jump ahead to a 9-2 lead. Lehigh also played stringent defense to begin the game, holding Lafayette to only six points through the first ten minutes of the game. Leading 16-4 with 13:06 to play, sophomore Nasir Whitlock went on a personal 8-2 run to extend Lehigh's lead to 20. The Leopards would rally and eventually cut the Mountain Hawk lead to 12, but Lehigh closed out the frame on a 12-2 run in the final four minutes to jump ahead to a dominant 43-21 lead at halftime.
The second half began just like the first with Lehigh continuing to shoot the ball efficiently while playing great defense. The Leopards were able to find a bit of offensive consistency through the first ten minutes by attacking the paint, but continued to struggle shooting from the outside. Leading 60-38 with 10:46 to go, Lehigh turned up the intensity, conducting a 19-4 run over the next seven minutes of play to lead by 37. The Mountain Hawks eventually earned their largest lead of the night in the final minutes, taking a 86-45 lead before conceding one final layup to end the game leading by 39.
Lehigh had one of its best shooting performances of the season, going 57.1% (32-56) from the field and 52.9% (9-17) from three. On the other, Lafayette struggled mightily, going 31.5% (17-54) and a staggering 0.0% (0-22) from three. Lehigh dominated on the glass, outrebounding Lafayette 41-24. The Mountain Hawks also tallied 18 assists and assisted on 56.2% of their baskets on Saturday night.
Leading the charge offensively was Whitlock, who tallied a game-high 21 points on 8-16 shooting with three rebounds, three assists, one block and three made triples. Whitlock has now scored 10+ points in six straight games and has now reached 20+ points three times.
First-year Edouard Benoit reached a new career-high of 17 points on 7-10 shooting and 3-4 from three. Senior Tyler Whitney-Sidney tallied 15 points, six rebounds and a team-high four assists. Sophomore guard Cam Gillus hauled in a game and career-high eight rebounds.
Senior center Justin Vander Baan led the Leopards with 11 points.
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Wednesday, January 29 to host Navy for Salute to Service, presented by Weis Markets. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Stabler Arena.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Coach Reed talks with Marco Socci following tonight's massive 86-47 rivalry win!#GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/oycC9jVZJj
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 26, 2025
Lehigh (7-12, 2-6 PL) and Lafayette share one of the NCAA's most storied rivalries, having first met in the 1901-02 season. The Leopards lead the all-time series 149-98, but the Mountain Hawks have now won each of the last four meetings between the two rivals. Head coach Dr. Brett Reed now owns a 27-14 record all-time against Lafayette.
The Mountain Hawks were locked in offensively to start the game, going 4-4 from the field to jump ahead to a 9-2 lead. Lehigh also played stringent defense to begin the game, holding Lafayette to only six points through the first ten minutes of the game. Leading 16-4 with 13:06 to play, sophomore Nasir Whitlock went on a personal 8-2 run to extend Lehigh's lead to 20. The Leopards would rally and eventually cut the Mountain Hawk lead to 12, but Lehigh closed out the frame on a 12-2 run in the final four minutes to jump ahead to a dominant 43-21 lead at halftime.
The second half began just like the first with Lehigh continuing to shoot the ball efficiently while playing great defense. The Leopards were able to find a bit of offensive consistency through the first ten minutes by attacking the paint, but continued to struggle shooting from the outside. Leading 60-38 with 10:46 to go, Lehigh turned up the intensity, conducting a 19-4 run over the next seven minutes of play to lead by 37. The Mountain Hawks eventually earned their largest lead of the night in the final minutes, taking a 86-45 lead before conceding one final layup to end the game leading by 39.
Lehigh had one of its best shooting performances of the season, going 57.1% (32-56) from the field and 52.9% (9-17) from three. On the other, Lafayette struggled mightily, going 31.5% (17-54) and a staggering 0.0% (0-22) from three. Lehigh dominated on the glass, outrebounding Lafayette 41-24. The Mountain Hawks also tallied 18 assists and assisted on 56.2% of their baskets on Saturday night.
Leading the charge offensively was Whitlock, who tallied a game-high 21 points on 8-16 shooting with three rebounds, three assists, one block and three made triples. Whitlock has now scored 10+ points in six straight games and has now reached 20+ points three times.
First-year Edouard Benoit reached a new career-high of 17 points on 7-10 shooting and 3-4 from three. Senior Tyler Whitney-Sidney tallied 15 points, six rebounds and a team-high four assists. Sophomore guard Cam Gillus hauled in a game and career-high eight rebounds.
15 points, six rebounds and four assists for @twhitneysidney in tonight's rivalry 𝐖!#GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/imD7uhOwvl
— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 26, 2025
Senior center Justin Vander Baan led the Leopards with 11 points.
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Wednesday, January 29 to host Navy for Salute to Service, presented by Weis Markets. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Stabler Arena.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
Laf
Lehigh
FG%
.315
.571
3FG%
.000
.529
FT%
.722
.813
RB
24
41
TO
14
13
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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