Posted: 02/17/2012
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Coming off a thrilling last-second win over Bucknell, the Lehigh men’s basketball team hits the hardwood less than 48 hours later when the Mountain Hawks welcome archrival Lafayette to Stabler Arena Saturday. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Junior C.J. McCollum shook off a slow start Thursday to score 11 second-half points, including the game-winning three-pointer with less than a second remaining, a play that was featured on media outlets across the country including SportsCenter’s top 10 plays.
The Mountain Hawks found themselves down 51-44 with less than five minutes remaining, but Lehigh staged a 9-2 run down the stretch to pull out the victory. In doing so, it gave the Mountain Hawks their first win at Bucknell since 2008, when the final score was ironically 56-54 (within one point of Thursday’s 56-53 final). It also snapped Bucknell streaks of: 20 straight wins over Patriot League foes, 17 in a row during league play, 15 straight league wins at home and 12 consecutive victories overall.
The win propelled Lehigh to its 20th victory of the season, marking the fourth time in school history (and second time in the last three seasons) that the Mountain Hawks have eclipsed 20. Lehigh and Bucknell now own identical 20-7 overall records. The Mountain Hawks are tied for second in the league standings, two games behind the Bison. Bucknell could have clinched the Patriot League Regular Season Title and the #1 seed in the league tournament, but Lehigh prevented that from happening for at least one more game.
Lehigh shot 33 percent from the field Thursday, but only had nine turnovers (fourth straight game in single digits) while knocking down 16-of-17 free throws to stay close. The Mountain Hawks now turn their attention to archrival Lafayette; Lehigh looks for its fifth straight win over its rivals from Easton. A victory would also clinch a home game in the Patriot League Quarterfinals for a third straight season.
With three regular season games still remaining, the Mountain Hawks are already only two wins from tying the school record for wins in a season (22), set during their 2009-10 Patriot League Championship campaign. A win would give Lehigh its fifth winning streak of three or more games this season.
Lafayette enters Saturday tied with Holy Cross for fourth in the Patriot League standings, which means home court advantage in the league quarterfinals. The Leopards have enjoyed an up-and-down season, improving to 6-3 in the Patriot League before dropping the last two at Bucknell, then home vs. Holy Cross. Lafayette is currently 0-4 against the three teams ahead of them in the standings (Bucknell, Lehigh and American) and 6-1 against everyone else. Ryan Willen leads the team in scoring (14.8) and rebounding (5.1) while Jim Mower is right behind him, averaging 13.3 points per game. Rob Delaney and Tony Johnson average 9.2 and 8.4, respectively. Lafayette is second in the Patriot League in scoring offense (70.0) behind Lehigh, but stands second-to-last in defense (72.7). One of the Leopards’ biggest strengths is three-point shooting, as they’ve knocked down 38 percent on the season.
Lehigh has won four straight games in the all-time series, but Lafayette still holds the edge, 134-79. The Mountain Hawks’ streak began with their 74-59 Patriot League Championship game win on Mar. 12, 2010 and continued into a season sweep a year ago, and a 90-76 triumph in the first meeting this season. Lafayette won nine in a row from 1997-00, but the Mountain Hawks have responded with a 15-10 record since. Lehigh’s long-standing rival, the schools first met in 1901-02, a 46-13 Lehigh victory.
The Mountain Hawks round out regular season play with a pair of road games next week. Lehigh travels to Navy Wednesday (7 p.m.) before heading to Army on Saturday (4 p.m.).
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Date:
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February 18, 2012
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Opponent:
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Lafayette Leopards
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Tip-off:
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4:00 PM
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Arena/Capacity:
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Stabler Arena/5,600
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Location:
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Bethlehem, Pa.
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Lehigh’s Record:
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20-7 overall, 8-3 Patriot League
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Lafayette’s Record:
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11-15 overall, 6-5 Patriot League
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Series:
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Lafayette leads, 134-79
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Radio:
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Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Matt Kerr and Greg Falkenbach ‘72. Pregame coverage gets underway at 3:30 PM.
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Television:
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CBS Sports Network
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Internet Video:
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None
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Behind Enemy Lines:
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