Saturday, February 22
Easton, Pa.
5:00 PM
Lehigh University
10-17,5-11Patriot
70
at
78
Lafayette College
11-18,6-10Patriot
1
2
F
Lehigh
38
32
70
Lafayette
44
34
78
Photo by: Tommy Biltcliff
Mountain Hawks Split Season Series With Lafayette
2/22/2025 9:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EASTON, Pa. – This season's second installment of The Rivalry took place Saturday evening between Lehigh men's basketball and the Lafayette Leopards at the Kirby Sports Center in Easton. The game was competitive the whole way through, but ultimately the Leopards came away with a 78-70 wire-to-wire victory.
The win puts Lafayette (11-10, 6-10 PL) ahead of Lehigh (10-17, 5-11 PL) in the Patriot League standings, and if the season ended today, the two teams would play one another in the first round of the Patriot League tournament. Lehigh and Lafayette split the season series following an 86-47 Mountain Hawk win in Bethlehem last month.
Lafayette scored a quick four points within the first minute and a half and extended that lead to five within the opening three minutes. Sophomore Joshua Ingram and first-year Edouard Benoit combined for Lehigh's first ten points to tie the game 10-10 at the 15-minute mark. The Leopards jumped back in front and were able to maintain a slim lead until a Nasir Whitlock triple tied the game at 24 apiece with under eight to play in the frame. From there, Lafayette uncorked a 14-5 run to lead 38-29 with 3:14 to go. Senior Tyler Whitney-Sidney scored inside to cut the lead to three with nine seconds to go, but Lafayette first-year Alex Chaikin drew a three-point foul in the final seconds of the half to put the Leopards up three after 20 minutes.
The Leopards outscored the Mountain Hawks 9-4 to open the second half, which led them to their largest lead of 11 early in the frame. However, Lehigh found a response on the inside from first-year Hank Alvey. The Mountain Hawks opened a 13-6 run to pull within four with Alvey scoring nine during the run. A Benoit triple brought Lehigh to within two with six minutes to play, but two trips to the line for Lafayette's Justin Vander Baan kept the Leopards in front. Trailing by three with three minutes to play, Andrew Phillips knocked down a three for Lafayette to give the home team a six-point lead and seemingly put the game out of reach for the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh and Lafayette were identical from the field, as both teams shot 45.6% (26-57). The Mountain Hawks connected on 50.0% (9-18) of their three-point shots while the Leopards shot 30.4% (7-23) from deep. The Leopards went a perfect 19-19 from the free throw line while the Mountain Hawks went 69.2% (9-13) from the charity stripe. Lafayette won the battle of the boards 35-30.
Four Mountain Hawks scored in double-figures, led by Whitney-Sidney and Alvey with 14 apiece. Alvey matched his career-high while Whitney-Sidney led Lehigh with five assists. In addition, Whitney-Sidney surpassed Kyle Leufroy and Chuck Penn for 14th on Lehigh's all-time scoring list. Ingram and Whitlock also scored in double-figures with 13 points each.
Caleb Williams led the way for the Leopards with 19 points. Vander Baan nearly recorded a triple double with 17 points, ten rebounds and seven assists. Phillips (14p) and Chaikin (11p) also reached double-figures for Lafayette.
The Mountain Hawks return home after a two-game road stand to face Boston University on Wednesday, February 26 at 6 p.m.
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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The win puts Lafayette (11-10, 6-10 PL) ahead of Lehigh (10-17, 5-11 PL) in the Patriot League standings, and if the season ended today, the two teams would play one another in the first round of the Patriot League tournament. Lehigh and Lafayette split the season series following an 86-47 Mountain Hawk win in Bethlehem last month.
Lafayette scored a quick four points within the first minute and a half and extended that lead to five within the opening three minutes. Sophomore Joshua Ingram and first-year Edouard Benoit combined for Lehigh's first ten points to tie the game 10-10 at the 15-minute mark. The Leopards jumped back in front and were able to maintain a slim lead until a Nasir Whitlock triple tied the game at 24 apiece with under eight to play in the frame. From there, Lafayette uncorked a 14-5 run to lead 38-29 with 3:14 to go. Senior Tyler Whitney-Sidney scored inside to cut the lead to three with nine seconds to go, but Lafayette first-year Alex Chaikin drew a three-point foul in the final seconds of the half to put the Leopards up three after 20 minutes.
The Leopards outscored the Mountain Hawks 9-4 to open the second half, which led them to their largest lead of 11 early in the frame. However, Lehigh found a response on the inside from first-year Hank Alvey. The Mountain Hawks opened a 13-6 run to pull within four with Alvey scoring nine during the run. A Benoit triple brought Lehigh to within two with six minutes to play, but two trips to the line for Lafayette's Justin Vander Baan kept the Leopards in front. Trailing by three with three minutes to play, Andrew Phillips knocked down a three for Lafayette to give the home team a six-point lead and seemingly put the game out of reach for the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh and Lafayette were identical from the field, as both teams shot 45.6% (26-57). The Mountain Hawks connected on 50.0% (9-18) of their three-point shots while the Leopards shot 30.4% (7-23) from deep. The Leopards went a perfect 19-19 from the free throw line while the Mountain Hawks went 69.2% (9-13) from the charity stripe. Lafayette won the battle of the boards 35-30.
Four Mountain Hawks scored in double-figures, led by Whitney-Sidney and Alvey with 14 apiece. Alvey matched his career-high while Whitney-Sidney led Lehigh with five assists. In addition, Whitney-Sidney surpassed Kyle Leufroy and Chuck Penn for 14th on Lehigh's all-time scoring list. Ingram and Whitlock also scored in double-figures with 13 points each.
Caleb Williams led the way for the Leopards with 19 points. Vander Baan nearly recorded a triple double with 17 points, ten rebounds and seven assists. Phillips (14p) and Chaikin (11p) also reached double-figures for Lafayette.
The Mountain Hawks return home after a two-game road stand to face Boston University on Wednesday, February 26 at 6 p.m.
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
Lehigh
Laf
FG%
.456
.456
3FG%
.500
.304
FT%
.692
1.000
RB
30
35
TO
11
9
STL
4
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F/C
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