Saturday, February 1
Worcester, Mass.
4:30 PM
Lehigh University
69
at
67
Holy Cross
Photo by: Clark Boinis
Mountain Hawks Hold On 69-67 At Holy Cross In First League Road Win
2/1/2025 9:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WORCESTER, Mass. – Patriot League play continued for Lehigh men's basketball on Saturday afternoon from the Hart Center against the hosting Holy Cross Crusaders. The Mountain Hawks led for nearly the entire game in a much needed 69-67 road victory over the Crusaders.
"I was really impressed because Holy Cross ended up playing a good run of basketball," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "Between Hank Alvey and Edouard Benoit drawing nine fouls for the game, it helped establish us a little bit more where we could handle a little bit of a run. And obviously then Joshua Ingram hits a big shot, we get some important free throws, all the things that contribute to a great road win."
Lehigh (8-13, 3-7 PL) has now won eight of its last ten games against Holy Cross (11-12, 3-7 PL), including three in a row at the Hart Center. The win marks Lehigh's first road Patriot League victory of the season.
Holy Cross got the scoring started off of a Caleb Kenney hook shot on their first possession, however, their 2-0 lead would be their final and only advantage of the game. Sophomore Cam Gillus responded with a three on the other end to put the Mountain Hawks ahead, eventually extending that lead to 12-6 at 14:26. Kenney kept the Crusaders within reach, scoring 10 of Holy Cross' first 14 points. Despite his efforts, the Mountain Hawks stayed in front, eventually jumping ahead by eight after back-to-back triples from Gillus and first-year Alfredo Addesa. A Nasir Whitlock step-back mid-range jumper set the score at 40-33 with 46 seconds to go, but Holy Cross scored on their final possession of the half to bring them to within five at halftime.
The Mountain Hawks held the Crusaders scoreless for nearly the first three minutes of the second half, allowing them to extend their lead to nine. Lehigh continued to put their foot on the gas pedal, outscoring Holy Cross 16-7 through the first seven minutes of the half to gain their largest lead of the night at 56-42. However, the Crusaders soon returned the favor, uncorking a 14-0 run in just over four minutes time to tie the contest at 56-56 with under eight minutes remaining. Holy Cross would tie Lehigh two more times down the stretch in what had become a back-and-forth affair in the closing minutes. With the score knotted at 64-64, sophomore Joshua Ingram calmly sunk a step-back mid-range two with 1:04 remaining that gave Lehigh the lead for good. Holy Cross had a chance to send the game to overtime after grabbing an offensive rebound following DeAndre Williams' intentionally missed free throw down two in the final seconds, but Joe Nugent's floater at the buzzer was off the mark.
"I was thinking American all over again," Gillus jokingly said after watching Nugent's floater. "This win shows how we stuck through it throughout the game. There were some times they went on some runs, but we kept fighting and fighting and were able to get through it."
Lehigh posted shooting percentages of 42.9% (24-56) from the field and 37.5% (9-24) from distance while Holy Cross shot 46.8% (29-62) and 33.3% (5-15). The Crusaders earned the advantage on the glass 42-33 while the Mountain Hawks found a 60.0% (12-20) to 50.0% (4-8) advantage from the free throw line.
Gillus and senior Tyler Whitney-Sidney led the way offensively for the Mountain Hawks, each scoring 16 points. Gillus grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds to notch his first career double-double while also adding four assists, two steals and zero turnovers. Whitney-Sidney connected on seven field goals in his return to the state of Massachusetts.
"Cam ended up finding some people and giving them an opportunity to score," said Reed. "It might not have always been the direct pass, but he helped facilitate our offense at a high level. In addition, he knocked down a lot of shots in the first half and did a very good job defensively on Max Green [Holy Cross' leading scorer]."
Recording a new career-high was Addesa, who scored 10 points on 3-3 shooting and 2-2 from distance. Addesa also blocked a career-high two shots. Ingram finished with eight points while Alvey (7p), Whitlock (7p) and first-year Edouard Benoit (5p) also scored for Lehigh.
"[Alfredo] played really hard, he knocked down shots and he was part of an important run," said Reed. "That point production and the overall production that we got from our first-years was really valuable."
Kenney finished the night with a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds for Holy Cross. Williams joined him in double-figures with 17 points.
The Mountain Hawks have a quick turnaround, as the team faces the Colgate Raiders on Monday, February 3 at 6 p.m. at Stabler Arena. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.
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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"I was really impressed because Holy Cross ended up playing a good run of basketball," said head coach Dr. Brett Reed. "Between Hank Alvey and Edouard Benoit drawing nine fouls for the game, it helped establish us a little bit more where we could handle a little bit of a run. And obviously then Joshua Ingram hits a big shot, we get some important free throws, all the things that contribute to a great road win."
Lehigh (8-13, 3-7 PL) has now won eight of its last ten games against Holy Cross (11-12, 3-7 PL), including three in a row at the Hart Center. The win marks Lehigh's first road Patriot League victory of the season.
Holy Cross got the scoring started off of a Caleb Kenney hook shot on their first possession, however, their 2-0 lead would be their final and only advantage of the game. Sophomore Cam Gillus responded with a three on the other end to put the Mountain Hawks ahead, eventually extending that lead to 12-6 at 14:26. Kenney kept the Crusaders within reach, scoring 10 of Holy Cross' first 14 points. Despite his efforts, the Mountain Hawks stayed in front, eventually jumping ahead by eight after back-to-back triples from Gillus and first-year Alfredo Addesa. A Nasir Whitlock step-back mid-range jumper set the score at 40-33 with 46 seconds to go, but Holy Cross scored on their final possession of the half to bring them to within five at halftime.
The Mountain Hawks held the Crusaders scoreless for nearly the first three minutes of the second half, allowing them to extend their lead to nine. Lehigh continued to put their foot on the gas pedal, outscoring Holy Cross 16-7 through the first seven minutes of the half to gain their largest lead of the night at 56-42. However, the Crusaders soon returned the favor, uncorking a 14-0 run in just over four minutes time to tie the contest at 56-56 with under eight minutes remaining. Holy Cross would tie Lehigh two more times down the stretch in what had become a back-and-forth affair in the closing minutes. With the score knotted at 64-64, sophomore Joshua Ingram calmly sunk a step-back mid-range two with 1:04 remaining that gave Lehigh the lead for good. Holy Cross had a chance to send the game to overtime after grabbing an offensive rebound following DeAndre Williams' intentionally missed free throw down two in the final seconds, but Joe Nugent's floater at the buzzer was off the mark.
"I was thinking American all over again," Gillus jokingly said after watching Nugent's floater. "This win shows how we stuck through it throughout the game. There were some times they went on some runs, but we kept fighting and fighting and were able to get through it."
Lehigh posted shooting percentages of 42.9% (24-56) from the field and 37.5% (9-24) from distance while Holy Cross shot 46.8% (29-62) and 33.3% (5-15). The Crusaders earned the advantage on the glass 42-33 while the Mountain Hawks found a 60.0% (12-20) to 50.0% (4-8) advantage from the free throw line.
Gillus and senior Tyler Whitney-Sidney led the way offensively for the Mountain Hawks, each scoring 16 points. Gillus grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds to notch his first career double-double while also adding four assists, two steals and zero turnovers. Whitney-Sidney connected on seven field goals in his return to the state of Massachusetts.
"Cam ended up finding some people and giving them an opportunity to score," said Reed. "It might not have always been the direct pass, but he helped facilitate our offense at a high level. In addition, he knocked down a lot of shots in the first half and did a very good job defensively on Max Green [Holy Cross' leading scorer]."
Recording a new career-high was Addesa, who scored 10 points on 3-3 shooting and 2-2 from distance. Addesa also blocked a career-high two shots. Ingram finished with eight points while Alvey (7p), Whitlock (7p) and first-year Edouard Benoit (5p) also scored for Lehigh.
"[Alfredo] played really hard, he knocked down shots and he was part of an important run," said Reed. "That point production and the overall production that we got from our first-years was really valuable."
Kenney finished the night with a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds for Holy Cross. Williams joined him in double-figures with 17 points.
The Mountain Hawks have a quick turnaround, as the team faces the Colgate Raiders on Monday, February 3 at 6 p.m. at Stabler Arena. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.
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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