Wednesday, January 29
Bethlehem, Pa.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
7-13,2-7Patriot
54
vs
79
Navy
8-14,5-4Patriot
1
2
F
Navy
29
50
79
Lehigh
22
32
54
Photo by: Kit Keating
Lehigh's Offense Halted In Loss Vs. Navy
1/29/2025 10:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following Saturday's dominant victory over rival Lafayette, Lehigh men's basketball returned to Stabler Arena on Wednesday evening to host Navy for Coaches vs. Cancer and Salute to Service, presented by Weis Markets. The Mountain Hawks struggled offensively and ultimately fell to the Midshipmen 79-54.
"It was a physical game," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "Despite us not being able to score and not move on the court with freedom of movement, our defense held us tight. In the second half, it imploded on us. We got it handed to us by their guard play."
Navy (8-14, 5-4 PL) now owns a 56-36 advantage in the all-time series over Lehigh (7-13, 2-7 PL). The Midshipmen are winners of three straight while the Mountain Hawks have now lost seven of their last eight contests.
It was a very low-scoring first half for both teams, as neither squad got over the 30-point mark. Lehigh took an early 10-6 advantage at 13:43 in the first half thanks to a hot start from first-years Hank Alvey and Edouard Benoit. The lead would go on to change hands three more times in the frame, with the Midshipmen eventually gaining a nine-point advantage after holding Lehigh to only two field goals in over six minutes of play. An Alvey hook shot in the final minute of the frame set the score at 29-22 in favor of Navy at halftime.
Lehigh gained some quick momentum to start the second half, scoring five unanswered in the opening minute to cut Navy's lead to four. However, the Mids started to lock in defensively, only allowing five points over the next eight minutes while scoring 22 themselves. Navy's stringent defense allowed them to open a 51-32 advantage with 11:08 remaining in the game. The Mountain Hawks would begin a short rally to cut Navy's lead to 13, but the three-point shooting of guard Jordan Pennick and shot-making of guard Austin Benigni kept the Mids in control of the game. Navy would go on to outscore Lehigh 50-32 in the second half to earn a 25-point victory.
Navy shot an efficient 50.0% (29-58) from the field and 47.1 (8-17) from three while Lehigh posted marks of 37.3% (19-51) and 50.0% (8-16) from downtown. The Midshipmen earned a massive 38-21 advantage on the glass and shot 92.9% (13-14) from the free throw line compared to Lehigh's 57.1% (8-14).
Making his third career start, Benoit led the Mountain Hawks offensively with 15 points on 5-7 shooting and 4-5 from three. Joining him in double-figures was senior Tyler Whitney-Sidney with 13 points and Alvey with 12 points.
"Hank gave us a lot of interior touches, I thought he was really effective down there," said Reed. "We are getting point production from Edouard Benoit and Hank Alvey, which is exactly what usually solidifies us as long as our defense can hold tight."
Four Mids scored in double-figures, led by Benigni with 18. Pennick (17p), Carnegie Johnson (13p) and Aidan Kehoe (10p) joined Benigni in double-digits.
The Mountain Hawks hit the road for a date with the Holy Cross Crusaders on Saturday, February 1. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in Worcester.
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 a physical game," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "Despite us not being able to score and not move on the court with freedom of movement, our defense held us tight. In the second half, it imploded on us. We got it handed to us by their guard play."
Navy (8-14, 5-4 PL) now owns a 56-36 advantage in the all-time series over Lehigh (7-13, 2-7 PL). The Midshipmen are winners of three straight while the Mountain Hawks have now lost seven of their last eight contests.
It was a very low-scoring first half for both teams, as neither squad got over the 30-point mark. Lehigh took an early 10-6 advantage at 13:43 in the first half thanks to a hot start from first-years Hank Alvey and Edouard Benoit. The lead would go on to change hands three more times in the frame, with the Midshipmen eventually gaining a nine-point advantage after holding Lehigh to only two field goals in over six minutes of play. An Alvey hook shot in the final minute of the frame set the score at 29-22 in favor of Navy at halftime.
Lehigh gained some quick momentum to start the second half, scoring five unanswered in the opening minute to cut Navy's lead to four. However, the Mids started to lock in defensively, only allowing five points over the next eight minutes while scoring 22 themselves. Navy's stringent defense allowed them to open a 51-32 advantage with 11:08 remaining in the game. The Mountain Hawks would begin a short rally to cut Navy's lead to 13, but the three-point shooting of guard Jordan Pennick and shot-making of guard Austin Benigni kept the Mids in control of the game. Navy would go on to outscore Lehigh 50-32 in the second half to earn a 25-point victory.
Navy shot an efficient 50.0% (29-58) from the field and 47.1 (8-17) from three while Lehigh posted marks of 37.3% (19-51) and 50.0% (8-16) from downtown. The Midshipmen earned a massive 38-21 advantage on the glass and shot 92.9% (13-14) from the free throw line compared to Lehigh's 57.1% (8-14).
Making his third career start, Benoit led the Mountain Hawks offensively with 15 points on 5-7 shooting and 4-5 from three. Joining him in double-figures was senior Tyler Whitney-Sidney with 13 points and Alvey with 12 points.
"Hank gave us a lot of interior touches, I thought he was really effective down there," said Reed. "We are getting point production from Edouard Benoit and Hank Alvey, which is exactly what usually solidifies us as long as our defense can hold tight."
Four Mids scored in double-figures, led by Benigni with 18. Pennick (17p), Carnegie Johnson (13p) and Aidan Kehoe (10p) joined Benigni in double-digits.
The Mountain Hawks hit the road for a date with the Holy Cross Crusaders on Saturday, February 1. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in Worcester.
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
Navy
Lehigh
FG%
.500
.373
3FG%
.471
.500
FT%
.929
.571
RB
38
21
TO
9
8
STL
2
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F/C
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