Saturday, January 3
Lewisburg, Pa.
5:00 PM
Lehigh University
4-11,0-2Patriot
65
at
72
Bucknell University
4-11,1-1Patriot
1
2
F
Lehigh
36
29
65
Bucknell
28
44
72
Photo by: Clark Boinis
Lehigh Falls 72-65 On The Road At Bucknell
1/3/2026 7:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Lehigh men's basketball played its first road Patriot League game of the season on Saturday evening from Sojka Pavilion against the Bucknell Bison. The Mountain Hawks fell 72-65 to the Bison in a game that saw five lead changes.
"Our turnovers destroyed us in the second half, and they led to a lot of run-out easy baskets," said Murray H. Goodman '48 head coach Brett Reed. "For the most part, our first shot defense was strong, and it helped us build a halftime lead. The carelessness of our turnovers and getting a little too deep with our penetration ended up being an Achilles heel for us."
Lehigh (4-11, 0-2 PL) and Bucknell (4-11, 1-1 PL) share a storied history dating all the way back to the 1901-02 season. The Bison now lead the all-time series 113-75-1.
Sophomore Edouard Benoit opened the night for the Mountain Hawks converting three shots at the free throw line, helping Lehigh hold a 10-7 lead at the first media timeout. Sophomore Hank Alvey was effective in the early going for Lehigh, starting the night 4-4 from the field to help Lehigh take a 21-16 lead. First-year Caleb Thomas' baseline jumper to put Lehigh up by seven, prompting a Bucknell timeout with 9:58 to go.
Lehigh continued to extend their lead in the first half, coupling defensive stops with efficient shot-making. A Nasir Whitlock triple gave the Mountain Hawks their largest lead of the half at 32-19 with 6:10 remaining. Three Ruot Bijiek free throws helped Bucknell cut their deficit to six with under a minute to play, but a steal and score from Thomas in the final seconds sent Lehigh to the locker room with a 36-28 lead.
Bucknell chipped into Lehigh's lead to open the second half, cutting it to four on a Pat Curtin and-one. The Bison tied the contest at 45-45 on a Bijiek put-back layup, forcing a Lehigh timeout with 14:52 on the clock. Bucknell gained their first lead of the night out of the break, hitting back-to-back triples to take a six-point advantage.
After conceding the lead, the Mountain Hawks fought their way back in front, outscoring the Bison 10-0 in under two minutes to go back up 55-51. The two teams continued to trade buckets down the stretch, with the lead changing hands multiple times in the latter half of the frame. Up by three with under a minute to play, Bucknell's Amon Dörries connected on a turnaround jumper that put the Bison up by five. The Bison made their free throws down the stretch to ice the game.
Lehigh shot 46.8% (22-47) from the field, 25.0% (4-16) from three, and 81.0% (17-21) from the free throw line in Saturday's loss. Bucknell posted splits of 36.9% (25-65) from the floor, 31.8% (7-22) from distance and 94.4% (17-18) from the line. The Bison found a narrow advantage on the glass 35-33 but made a difference in the turnover category, scoring 20 points off 21 takeaways.
Alvey built on his hot start to Patriot League play, tying his career-high of 26 points to go along with nine rebounds and two blocks. The sophomore posted 21 points against Army on Wednesday.
Benoit and Whitlock each scored 11 points, Joshua Ingram added ten, and Thomas chipped in seven off the bench.
Five Bison scored in double-figures, led by Bijiek with 20. Curtin (14p), Jayden Williams (12p), Dörries (11p), and Achille Spadone (10p) also reached double-digits for Bucknell.
Lehigh returns to Stabler Arena on Wednesday, January 7 at 6 p.m. to take on Holy Cross.
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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"Our turnovers destroyed us in the second half, and they led to a lot of run-out easy baskets," said Murray H. Goodman '48 head coach Brett Reed. "For the most part, our first shot defense was strong, and it helped us build a halftime lead. The carelessness of our turnovers and getting a little too deep with our penetration ended up being an Achilles heel for us."
Lehigh (4-11, 0-2 PL) and Bucknell (4-11, 1-1 PL) share a storied history dating all the way back to the 1901-02 season. The Bison now lead the all-time series 113-75-1.
Sophomore Edouard Benoit opened the night for the Mountain Hawks converting three shots at the free throw line, helping Lehigh hold a 10-7 lead at the first media timeout. Sophomore Hank Alvey was effective in the early going for Lehigh, starting the night 4-4 from the field to help Lehigh take a 21-16 lead. First-year Caleb Thomas' baseline jumper to put Lehigh up by seven, prompting a Bucknell timeout with 9:58 to go.
Lehigh continued to extend their lead in the first half, coupling defensive stops with efficient shot-making. A Nasir Whitlock triple gave the Mountain Hawks their largest lead of the half at 32-19 with 6:10 remaining. Three Ruot Bijiek free throws helped Bucknell cut their deficit to six with under a minute to play, but a steal and score from Thomas in the final seconds sent Lehigh to the locker room with a 36-28 lead.
Bucknell chipped into Lehigh's lead to open the second half, cutting it to four on a Pat Curtin and-one. The Bison tied the contest at 45-45 on a Bijiek put-back layup, forcing a Lehigh timeout with 14:52 on the clock. Bucknell gained their first lead of the night out of the break, hitting back-to-back triples to take a six-point advantage.
After conceding the lead, the Mountain Hawks fought their way back in front, outscoring the Bison 10-0 in under two minutes to go back up 55-51. The two teams continued to trade buckets down the stretch, with the lead changing hands multiple times in the latter half of the frame. Up by three with under a minute to play, Bucknell's Amon Dörries connected on a turnaround jumper that put the Bison up by five. The Bison made their free throws down the stretch to ice the game.
Lehigh shot 46.8% (22-47) from the field, 25.0% (4-16) from three, and 81.0% (17-21) from the free throw line in Saturday's loss. Bucknell posted splits of 36.9% (25-65) from the floor, 31.8% (7-22) from distance and 94.4% (17-18) from the line. The Bison found a narrow advantage on the glass 35-33 but made a difference in the turnover category, scoring 20 points off 21 takeaways.
Alvey built on his hot start to Patriot League play, tying his career-high of 26 points to go along with nine rebounds and two blocks. The sophomore posted 21 points against Army on Wednesday.
Benoit and Whitlock each scored 11 points, Joshua Ingram added ten, and Thomas chipped in seven off the bench.
Five Bison scored in double-figures, led by Bijiek with 20. Curtin (14p), Jayden Williams (12p), Dörries (11p), and Achille Spadone (10p) also reached double-digits for Bucknell.
Lehigh returns to Stabler Arena on Wednesday, January 7 at 6 p.m. to take on Holy Cross.
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
Buck
FG%
.468
.369
3FG%
.250
.318
FT%
.810
.944
RB
33
35
TO
21
12
STL
7
14
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
10
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
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