Friday, November 14
Piscataway, N.J.
6:30 PM
Lehigh University
1-3,0-0Patriot
72
at
84
Rutgers University
3-0,0-0Big Ten
1
2
F
Lehigh
34
38
72
Rutgers
41
43
84
Photo by: Clark Boinis
Mountain Hawks Battle In Hard-Fought 84-72 Loss At Rutgers
11/14/2025 9:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Lehigh men's basketball made the quick trip east on Friday evening for a non-league tilt against Big Ten foe Rutgers University. The Mountain Hawks cut the lead to as little as two points with under eight minutes remaining in the game, but the Scarlet Knights closed out an 84-72 win at Jersey Mike's Arena.
"There was a lot of fight from these guys tonight," said Murray H. Goodman '48 head coach Brett Reed. "They played with a lot of pride, togetherness and energy. I was really pleased to see that."
Lehigh (1-3) and Rutgers (3-0) are familiar foes, having faced off against one another over 100 times. Reed is now 1-2 against Rutgers all-time, having defeated the Scarlet Knights 76-71 in 2008 while falling 73-70 in overtime in 2021.
The Mountain Hawks scored the first two buckets of the game on layups from sophomore Hank Alvey and first-year Caleb Thomas, leading 4-0 after two minutes. A quick 5-0 run put Rutgers on top, but three triples from junior Nasir Whitlock and sophomore Peter Kramer gave Lehigh a 13-9 advantage.
Lehigh held onto their lead deep into the first half until the Scarlet Knights scored six unanswered to lead 29-24 with under five minutes to go. The Mountain Hawks closed the gap back down to one, but Rutgers jumped ahead by nine in the closing moments of the frame. With only four seconds on the clock, Thomas scurried past half court and floated in a runner as time expired to set the score at 41-34 headed into the locker room.
The Mountain Hawks cut the lead back down to five within the first two minutes of the second half, but the Scarlet Knights responded with an 8-0 run to give them their largest lead at 53-40 with 14:11 to play. Lehigh then began to rally, conducting a 19-8 over the next six minutes of action to cut the Rutgers lead to two.
Rutgers' size down low played a pivotal role down the stretch, as the Scarlet Knights hauled in 11 offensive rebounds to score 12 second-chance points in the second half. The Mountain Hawks tried to mount a comeback off the heels of eight points in the final two minutes from Ingram, but Rutgers ultimately closed out the game on their home court.
Lehigh shot 43% (26-61) from the field, 36% (9-25) from three and 69% (11-16) from the free throw line while Rutgers posted shooting splits of 51% (31-61) from the floor, 23% (3-13) from three and 70% (19-27) from the line. Rutgers won the battle on the boards 45-26 and outscored Lehigh 42-24 in the paint. The Mountain Hawks forced ten Rutgers turnovers while only committing nine themselves.
"Overall, we took care of the ball tonight," said Reed. "Rutgers has tried to turn people over in other games so that they can play in the full court. The fact that we took care of the basketball and limited our turnovers was a very positive sign."
Whitlock led the way offensively for Lehigh, scoring a season-high 21 points on 7-16 shooting. Ingram finished the night with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds on 5-9 shooting and 4-6 from three. Alvey joined them in double-figures with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Making his first career start, Kramer chipped in seven points and a career-high four steals in 25 minutes of action. Thomas posted seven points and four assists while junior Jalen Vazquez provided seven points in 20 minutes off the bench.
"[Peter] gave us great minutes," said Reed. "He ended some of their possessions with steals and was efficient on offense. We got very meaningful minutes in short spurts from a lot of guys who came off the bench as well."
The Scarlet Knights were led by Dylan Grant with 28 points and Emmanuel Ogbale with 16 points and ten rebounds.
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Tuesday, November 18 at 7 p.m. against Saint Francis for the team's first game at Stabler Arena this season.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
"There was a lot of fight from these guys tonight," said Murray H. Goodman '48 head coach Brett Reed. "They played with a lot of pride, togetherness and energy. I was really pleased to see that."
Lehigh (1-3) and Rutgers (3-0) are familiar foes, having faced off against one another over 100 times. Reed is now 1-2 against Rutgers all-time, having defeated the Scarlet Knights 76-71 in 2008 while falling 73-70 in overtime in 2021.
The Mountain Hawks scored the first two buckets of the game on layups from sophomore Hank Alvey and first-year Caleb Thomas, leading 4-0 after two minutes. A quick 5-0 run put Rutgers on top, but three triples from junior Nasir Whitlock and sophomore Peter Kramer gave Lehigh a 13-9 advantage.
Lehigh held onto their lead deep into the first half until the Scarlet Knights scored six unanswered to lead 29-24 with under five minutes to go. The Mountain Hawks closed the gap back down to one, but Rutgers jumped ahead by nine in the closing moments of the frame. With only four seconds on the clock, Thomas scurried past half court and floated in a runner as time expired to set the score at 41-34 headed into the locker room.
.@Ca10leb at the buzzer ‼️😱
— Lehigh Men's Basketball (@LehighMBB) November 15, 2025
📺 @BigTenPlus
#GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/eI7OQ0hklm
The Mountain Hawks cut the lead back down to five within the first two minutes of the second half, but the Scarlet Knights responded with an 8-0 run to give them their largest lead at 53-40 with 14:11 to play. Lehigh then began to rally, conducting a 19-8 over the next six minutes of action to cut the Rutgers lead to two.
Rutgers' size down low played a pivotal role down the stretch, as the Scarlet Knights hauled in 11 offensive rebounds to score 12 second-chance points in the second half. The Mountain Hawks tried to mount a comeback off the heels of eight points in the final two minutes from Ingram, but Rutgers ultimately closed out the game on their home court.
Lehigh shot 43% (26-61) from the field, 36% (9-25) from three and 69% (11-16) from the free throw line while Rutgers posted shooting splits of 51% (31-61) from the floor, 23% (3-13) from three and 70% (19-27) from the line. Rutgers won the battle on the boards 45-26 and outscored Lehigh 42-24 in the paint. The Mountain Hawks forced ten Rutgers turnovers while only committing nine themselves.
"Overall, we took care of the ball tonight," said Reed. "Rutgers has tried to turn people over in other games so that they can play in the full court. The fact that we took care of the basketball and limited our turnovers was a very positive sign."
Whitlock led the way offensively for Lehigh, scoring a season-high 21 points on 7-16 shooting. Ingram finished the night with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds on 5-9 shooting and 4-6 from three. Alvey joined them in double-figures with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Making his first career start, Kramer chipped in seven points and a career-high four steals in 25 minutes of action. Thomas posted seven points and four assists while junior Jalen Vazquez provided seven points in 20 minutes off the bench.
"[Peter] gave us great minutes," said Reed. "He ended some of their possessions with steals and was efficient on offense. We got very meaningful minutes in short spurts from a lot of guys who came off the bench as well."
The Scarlet Knights were led by Dylan Grant with 28 points and Emmanuel Ogbale with 16 points and ten rebounds.
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Tuesday, November 18 at 7 p.m. against Saint Francis for the team's first game at Stabler Arena this season.
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
Lehigh
RU
FG%
.426
.508
3FG%
.360
.231
FT%
.688
.704
RB
26
45
TO
9
10
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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