Saturday, January 17
Bethlehem, Pa.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
7-12,3-3Patriot
79
vs
82
Navy
13-6,5-1Patriot
1
2
OT 1
OT 2
F
Navy
27
32
8
15
82
Lehigh
26
33
8
12
79
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks Fall To Navy 82-79 In Double Overtime
1/17/2026 5:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Riding a three-game win streak, Lehigh men's basketball welcomed the first-place Navy Midshipmen to Stabler Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Mountain Hawks and Midshipmen battled all the way to two overtimes, but Navy ultimately pulled out an 82-79 win.
"Both teams battled and fought," said Murray H. Goodman '48 head coach Brett Reed. "It was a physical game, every possession mattered, and it's disappointing the one team had to lose."
Lehigh (7-12, 3-3 PL) had won three games entering Saturday's contest while Navy (13-6, 5-1 PL) was coming off their first Patriot League loss to American on Monday. Navy sits in first place in the Patriot League standings at the end of play on Saturday while Lehigh is currently in fifth place.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well through the first media timeout, with Lehigh leading 7-6 on only 3-8 shooting. The Midshipmen then went on a 9-0 run, holding the Mountain Hawks without a basket for four and a half minutes of gameplay to lead 13-7 at the 11:06 mark. Lehigh punched back with a 10-5 run to cut Navy's lead to one, with Caleb Thomas' up and under layup prompting a Navy timeout with 6:29 to play.
Trailing 21-17, sophomore Edouard Benoit converted a four-point play after getting fouled on a three to tie the game with four minutes remaining in the half. Knotted up at 23 apiece, the Midshipmen scored four unanswered buckets from Austin Benigni and Aidan Kehoe to lead 27-23 with five seconds left in the half. Nasir Whitlock floated in a running triple as time expired to send Lehigh to the locker room down by one.
The Mountain Hawks had a strong start to the second half, scoring five unanswered to lead 31-27 within the first two minutes. The lead changed hands five times in the first six minutes of the half before a Joshua Ingram fastbreak layup put Lehigh up by eight and forced a Navy timeout with 12:57 remaining.
Trailing 44-36, the Mids stormed back with a 9-2 run to cut Lehigh's advantage to one with 8:59 on the clock. Navy's Cam Cole knocked down a triple at 6:38 that gave the Mids their first lead since the first five minutes of the half. Two Whitlock free throws tied the game at 54-54 with under two minutes remaining. Andrew Urosevic and Navy's Donovan Draper traded baseline jumpers to keep the game tied heading into the final minute of action.
With 1:04 remaining, Whitlock drove in the lane and converted an and-one opportunity that gave Lehigh a 59-56 lead. Kehoe connected on an and-one of his own on the other end to tie the game with 44 seconds left. Both Lehigh and Navy had chances to take the lead in the final minute, but neither team scored to send the game to overtime.
After Lehigh won the tip in the extra period, Whitlock opened the scoring with a running floater to lead 61-59. Benigni then split a pair at the line, making way for a Hank Alvey layup to put Lehigh up by three. A Whitlock turnaround jumper gave the Mountain Hawks a five-point cushion, but Benigni drilled a three on the ensuing possession to cut the lead to two. Benigni then tied the game after swiping a steal and scoring a fastbreak layup before an Alvey dunk put the Mountain Hawks back on top with 44 seconds on the clock. With 31 seconds left, Benigni knocked down two free throws that once again tied the game at 67-67. Lehigh was unable to score at the buzzer, and the game went to second overtime.
Navy won the tip to start the second overtime and took a two-point lead on a Jinwoo Kim layup. Ingram tied the game on the other end at 69-69 before a goaltending call was overturned in Lehigh's favor. The two teams continued to trade baskets down the stretch, with the score tied 75-75 with under a minute remaining.
Kim gave the Mids the lead on a baseline jumper with 35 seconds to go before Benigni split a pair at the line to put Navy ahead by three. The Mountain Hawks turned the ball over on the inbounds pass and were forced to foul. Whitlock nabbed a steal on Navy's inbounds pass and was fouled, knocking down two free throws to trail by one with 9.8 seconds on the clock. Benigini converted two at the line to extend Navy's lead to three and then fouled Whitlock with 3.5 seconds remaining. Whitlock hit both before Draper was fouled with 1.9 seconds to go. Draper made both to seal the victory for the Mids.
Lehigh and Navy shot identical percentages from the field, both hitting 43.5% (30-69) of their field goal attempts. The Mountain Hawks connected on 42.1% (8-19) of its three-point attempts and 70.0% (14-20) of its free throw attempts while the Mids shot 20.7% (6-29) from three and 81.3% (13-16) from the line. Navy controlled the board 54-29, but Lehigh forced 16 turnovers to Navy's eight.
Whitlock was huge for Lehigh once again, scoring 31 points on 10-20 shooting and 9-9 from the free throw line. The junior captain has scored 30+ points in back-to-back games and has surpassed the 30-point mark four times this season.
Benoit scored 16 points with seven rebounds, Ingram put up 11 points with four steals, and Alvey posted eight points with seven rebounds.
Benigni led the charge for the Mids, scoring 34 points while playing all 50 minutes of regulation and both overtimes. Kehoe posted a double-double of 21 points and 21 rebounds while Cole (11p) and Kim (10p) also scored in double-figures.
The Mountain Hawks will have a quick turnaround, hosting Loyola Maryland on Monday, January 19 at 7 p.m. 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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"Both teams battled and fought," said Murray H. Goodman '48 head coach Brett Reed. "It was a physical game, every possession mattered, and it's disappointing the one team had to lose."
Lehigh (7-12, 3-3 PL) had won three games entering Saturday's contest while Navy (13-6, 5-1 PL) was coming off their first Patriot League loss to American on Monday. Navy sits in first place in the Patriot League standings at the end of play on Saturday while Lehigh is currently in fifth place.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well through the first media timeout, with Lehigh leading 7-6 on only 3-8 shooting. The Midshipmen then went on a 9-0 run, holding the Mountain Hawks without a basket for four and a half minutes of gameplay to lead 13-7 at the 11:06 mark. Lehigh punched back with a 10-5 run to cut Navy's lead to one, with Caleb Thomas' up and under layup prompting a Navy timeout with 6:29 to play.
Trailing 21-17, sophomore Edouard Benoit converted a four-point play after getting fouled on a three to tie the game with four minutes remaining in the half. Knotted up at 23 apiece, the Midshipmen scored four unanswered buckets from Austin Benigni and Aidan Kehoe to lead 27-23 with five seconds left in the half. Nasir Whitlock floated in a running triple as time expired to send Lehigh to the locker room down by one.
The Mountain Hawks had a strong start to the second half, scoring five unanswered to lead 31-27 within the first two minutes. The lead changed hands five times in the first six minutes of the half before a Joshua Ingram fastbreak layup put Lehigh up by eight and forced a Navy timeout with 12:57 remaining.
Trailing 44-36, the Mids stormed back with a 9-2 run to cut Lehigh's advantage to one with 8:59 on the clock. Navy's Cam Cole knocked down a triple at 6:38 that gave the Mids their first lead since the first five minutes of the half. Two Whitlock free throws tied the game at 54-54 with under two minutes remaining. Andrew Urosevic and Navy's Donovan Draper traded baseline jumpers to keep the game tied heading into the final minute of action.
With 1:04 remaining, Whitlock drove in the lane and converted an and-one opportunity that gave Lehigh a 59-56 lead. Kehoe connected on an and-one of his own on the other end to tie the game with 44 seconds left. Both Lehigh and Navy had chances to take the lead in the final minute, but neither team scored to send the game to overtime.
After Lehigh won the tip in the extra period, Whitlock opened the scoring with a running floater to lead 61-59. Benigni then split a pair at the line, making way for a Hank Alvey layup to put Lehigh up by three. A Whitlock turnaround jumper gave the Mountain Hawks a five-point cushion, but Benigni drilled a three on the ensuing possession to cut the lead to two. Benigni then tied the game after swiping a steal and scoring a fastbreak layup before an Alvey dunk put the Mountain Hawks back on top with 44 seconds on the clock. With 31 seconds left, Benigni knocked down two free throws that once again tied the game at 67-67. Lehigh was unable to score at the buzzer, and the game went to second overtime.
Navy won the tip to start the second overtime and took a two-point lead on a Jinwoo Kim layup. Ingram tied the game on the other end at 69-69 before a goaltending call was overturned in Lehigh's favor. The two teams continued to trade baskets down the stretch, with the score tied 75-75 with under a minute remaining.
Kim gave the Mids the lead on a baseline jumper with 35 seconds to go before Benigni split a pair at the line to put Navy ahead by three. The Mountain Hawks turned the ball over on the inbounds pass and were forced to foul. Whitlock nabbed a steal on Navy's inbounds pass and was fouled, knocking down two free throws to trail by one with 9.8 seconds on the clock. Benigini converted two at the line to extend Navy's lead to three and then fouled Whitlock with 3.5 seconds remaining. Whitlock hit both before Draper was fouled with 1.9 seconds to go. Draper made both to seal the victory for the Mids.
Lehigh and Navy shot identical percentages from the field, both hitting 43.5% (30-69) of their field goal attempts. The Mountain Hawks connected on 42.1% (8-19) of its three-point attempts and 70.0% (14-20) of its free throw attempts while the Mids shot 20.7% (6-29) from three and 81.3% (13-16) from the line. Navy controlled the board 54-29, but Lehigh forced 16 turnovers to Navy's eight.
Whitlock was huge for Lehigh once again, scoring 31 points on 10-20 shooting and 9-9 from the free throw line. The junior captain has scored 30+ points in back-to-back games and has surpassed the 30-point mark four times this season.
Benoit scored 16 points with seven rebounds, Ingram put up 11 points with four steals, and Alvey posted eight points with seven rebounds.
Benigni led the charge for the Mids, scoring 34 points while playing all 50 minutes of regulation and both overtimes. Kehoe posted a double-double of 21 points and 21 rebounds while Cole (11p) and Kim (10p) also scored in double-figures.
The Mountain Hawks will have a quick turnaround, hosting Loyola Maryland on Monday, January 19 at 7 p.m. 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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Team Stats
Navy
Lehigh
FG%
.435
.435
3FG%
.421
.207
FT%
.700
.813
RB
54
29
TO
16
8
STL
5
11
Game Leaders
Pts
31
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
9
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
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