Second Half Comeback Falls Short 89-84 In Double Overtime At Loyola

Wednesday, February 4

Baltimore, Md.

7:00 PM

Lehigh University

10-14,6-5Patriot

Loyola University Maryland

9-15,5-6Patriot

OT 1

OT 2

Lehigh

Loyola Maryland

Photo by: Clark Boinis

Second Half Comeback Falls Short 89-84 In Double Overtime At Loyola

2/4/2026 10:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BALTIMORE – Lehigh men's basketball eliminated a 16-point second half deficit to force overtime against the Loyola University Maryland Greyhounds at Reitz Arena on Wednesday evening, but the Greyhounds prevailed in double overtime 89-84 to split the season series against the Mountain Hawks.

"Loyola played really well at the start of the second half, and unfortunately it took us a little too long to self-correct," said Murray H. Goodman '48 head coach Brett Reed. "We ultimately did to force overtime, and I'm incredibly proud of our guys for their energy and togetherness to try to make that happen."

Lehigh (10-14, 6-5 PL) and Loyola (9-15, 5-6 PL) traded wins with one another after the Mountain Hawks defeated the Greyhounds 88-81 on January 19 in Bethlehem. The Mountain Hawks currently sit in fourth place in the Patriot League standings while the Greyhounds are in sixth place.

Junior Jalen Vazquez was active defensively to start the game, turning two steals into four points within the first four minutes of action. An Edouard Benoit three broke an 8-8 tie after the first media timeout with 14:36 to play. Another triple from Peter Kramer and a Joshua Ingram fast-break dunk gave the Mountain Hawks a six-point lead at 16-10, but the Greyhounds managed to tie the game at 17-17 with 9:28 to play.

Hank Alvey got going in the first half for Lehigh, scoring seven points to help the Mountain Hawks take a five-point lead at 24-19. The Greyhounds used an effective attack from the outside to come back, shooting 3-4 from three over the next three minutes to take a 30-29 lead. Jordan Stiemke pushed Loyola's advantage to four on a triple with 1:21 to go, but another Alvey layup set the score at 35-33 in favor of the Greyhounds entering the locker room.

The Greyhounds extended their advantage to open the second half, using two triples and a Stiemke dunk to take a 43-35 lead and force a Lehigh timeout. Loyola then scored five unanswered out of the break to extend their lead to 13 with 15:55 to go. Buckets from Alvey and Benoit cut Lehigh's deficit back down to eight, but a 6-0 Loyola run extended the Greyhounds' lead to 14 with 12:17 remaining.

Loyola continued their run deep into the second half, extending the lead by 16 at the under eight media timeout. Lehigh slowly chipped into their deficit, cutting the Loyola lead to seven with 3:42 to go thanks to a 9-0 run.

The Mountain Hawks shot the ball effectively down the stretch, using Ingram and Kramer triples to cut the lead to five. After Alvey split a pair at the line, the sophomore big man scored inside to bring Lehigh within two. Lehigh forced a stop on the other end, giving the Mountain Hawks a chance to tie or take the lead. Whitlock knocked down two free throws to even the score at 68-68 with 22 seconds remaining. Loyola's Braeden Speed knocked down a three at the buzzer for the win, but after review it was determined he did not get the shot off in time, sending Lehigh to its NCAA-leading seventh overtime game of the season.

The Greyhounds took a four-point lead to start the first overtime period on a Stiemke bucket and two Emmett Adair free throws. Ingram knocked down a triple to cut the lead to one before an Andrew Urosevic three tied the game at 74-74. The Greyhounds went back up by two on a Troy Cicero floater, but Ingram tied the game once again with a hook shot with 31 seconds remaining. Loyola had the final shot, but the Mountain Hawks' defense held strong to force a second overtime period.

Loyola's Carter Berg-McLean went 1-2 from the line to start the second overtime before Whitlock hit two free throws of his own to give Lehigh a one-point lead. Berg-McLean scored inside to put the Greyhounds back up by one, but Alvey tied the game back up at 79-79 after splitting two free throws. The next possession, Alvey scored inside off an Ingram assist to put the Mountain Hawks up by two with 1:15 to play.

The Greyhounds tied the game once again on an Adair layup before Cicero intercepted a pass and took it to the cup, giving Loyola an 83-81 lead with 38.6 to play. The Greyhounds then forced another turnover and converted two free throws to go up by two possessions. Another Alvey dunk cut the lead in half with 14.2 remaining, and the Mountain Hawks were forced to foul. Loyola made their free throws down the stretch to ice the game.

Lehigh shot 45.6% (31-68) from the field, 33.3% (11-33) from three, but struggled to the tune of 52.4% (11-21) from the free throw line. The Mountain Hawks assisted on 74.1% of their field goals. Loyola posted shooting splits of 43.2% (32-74) from the floor, 34.5% (10-29) from distance, and 83.3% (15-18) from the charity stripe. The Greyhounds owned a 46-39 advantage on the glass and outscored the Mountain Hawks in the paint 44-36.

Alvey set a new career-high of 27 points on an outstanding 11-12 from the field to go along with eight rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two steals. Whitlock provided 18 points with six assists and six rebounds. Benoit added 12 points, five rebounds and a steal while Ingram scored 11 points with six rebounds, six assists, and a steal. Kramer chipped in nine points in 22 minutes off the bench.

Adair paced the Greyhounds with a double-double of 27 points and 11 rebounds. Stiemke (19p), Cicero (17p), and Speed (13p) also reached double-figures for Loyola.

The Mountain Hawks are back on the road on Saturday, February 7 at 2 p.m. to take on the Holy Cross Crusaders in Worcester, Massachusetts.

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