Saturday, November 28
West Lafayette, Ind.
7:00 pm
Lehigh University
55
at
77
Purdue
Photo by: Justin Casterline
Mountain Hawks drop hard-fought 77-55 final at No. 15/16 Purdue
11/28/2015 9:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - For the second straight game, the Lehigh men's basketball team hung with one of the nation's best teams for long stretches, but it wasn't enough as the Mountain Hawks fell at No. 15/16 Purdue on Saturday evening, 77-55. Junior Tim Kempton fell just one rebound shy of a double-double, tallying 17 points and nine boards while sophomore Kahron Ross scored 13 points, including nine in the first half to help propel Lehigh's effort.
"We certainly battled," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "There were a lot of positive things to draw from. I thought our kids battled; we were first to loose balls and had guards who rebounded the basketball to close out possessions. We were starting to put together more of a complete effort on the defensive end. Even offensively, Kahron gave us a big offensive boost, but we ended up getting decent looks from other guys as well. We bogged down a little bit at times, but for the most part, we did not make our shots, free throws and the plays to complement all the effort and energy that we had."
Lehigh held its own against a Purdue team averaging 86.0 points per game while winning by an average of 28.2 per contest. The Mountain Hawks also held the Boilermakers to just 43.3 percent shooting after they came in shooting 50.5 percent over their first five games.
The Mountain Hawks contained Purdue's leading scorer 7-foot-2 center Isaac Haas in the first half, scoring just three points in only seven minutes due to foul trouble, but he broke out for 21 in the second half to finish with 24 for the game.
Senior Justin Goldsborough was a spark off the bench, grabbing seven rebounds to help Lehigh's effort on the glass. The Mountain Hawks held their own on the board, being outrebounded 50-38 for the game, but held a 26-24 edge in the first half. Lehigh finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds to Purdue's 13. Lehigh turned the ball over a season-low seven times while tallying seven steals and forcing 12 Boilermaker turnovers.
The game was very defensive in the early stages, with Purdue opening the scoring nearly three minutes into the contest. The Boilermakers scored the first seven points before Lehigh got on the board with 14:27 remaining following a Kempton three-point play.
Trailing 9-6, Lehigh answered with six of the next nine points as a Ross three-pointer pulled Lehigh within 12-11 then a Kempton free throw evened the score at 12 with 10:48 on the first-half clock.
Purdue responded with a 10-2 run as a Caleb Swanigan three-pointer rolled in, giving the Boilermakers a 22-14 advantage with 7:49 remaining.
A Kyle Leufroy three-point play pulled the Mountain Hawks within five, but Purdue's lead slowly inched to 10 as a Hill three-point play made it 30-20 with 3:35 on the clock. Lehigh pulled within six on multiple occasions, including after an acrobatic shot by Ross cut Purdue's lead to 32-26 with 1:39 on the clock.
However, the Boilermakers scored the final four points of the first half to take a 36-26 lead after 20 minutes of play.
The story of the first half was the defense and rebounding as Lehigh as the Mountain Hawks outrebounded a very big Boilermakers' squad 26-24, including a 9-5 edge on the offensive glass. Ross led Lehigh with nine first-half points, four rebounds and three assists.
Purdue staged a 10-2 run to begin the second half and begin creating separation as a Haas jumper made the score 46-28 with 15:16 on the clock.
Lehigh wouldn't go away quietly, though, immediately staging a 7-0 run which included jumpers from Price and Kempton and a corner three-pointer from Leufroy to pull the Mountain Hawks within 11 at 46-45 with 12:01 remaining.
Purdue's lead reached 15, but a steal from Price led to a Jenkins fast break layup, pulling Lehigh within 52-40 with 9:25 on the clock. The teams traded baskets over the ensuing minutes as Lehigh hung around. A jumper by Ross made the score 57-44 with 7:23 remaining while another Ross jumper just over one minute later again pulled his squad within 13. However, the Boilermakers immediately staged a 5-0 run to take a 64-46 lead following two Haas free throws with 5:25 on the clock.
Purdue eventually opened a 24-point, 72-48 lead after four straight Haas points, but a three-point play from Kempton pulled Lehigh back within 19 with 1:42 on the clock. That's as close as the Mountain Hawks would come as the Boilermakers wrapped up the 77-55 final to remain undefeated on the season.
For the game, Lehigh shot 30 percent (21-of-71), earning 11 more field goal attempts than Purdue. The Mountain Hawks were just 19 percent from three-point range (4-of-21). Purdue finished at 43 percent (26-of-60) and 21 percent from long distance (4-of-19).
The Mountain Hawks will return to Pennsylvania for a Wednesday road game at Saint Francis (Pa.). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Lehigh will return home next Saturday to host Rochester College at 2 p.m.
"We've got a long way to go. We're not where we need to be as of yet, but we are making progress," said Reed. "You can see it. Tonight, we brought the energy, but we also need to have the offense to complement some of those intangibles. We need to make sure we convert our opportunities. I want our guys to remember this feeling and not say it's okay. We have a long way to go, but if we continue to do some of the things we're doing now, I think we'll be well on our way."
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