Posted: 01/25/2012
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Following an impressive 14-point win over Lafayette, the Lehigh men’s basketball team looks for its second straight win on Thursday when it hosts Navy in a 7 p.m. tipoff in Stabler Arena. The game will air live nation-wide on CBS Sports Network with Bob Socci and Vince Curran on the call. The Mountain Hawks (15-6, 3-2) are looking to reach 10 games over .500 for the first time in regular season play since 1988.
Lehigh did jump 10 games over .500 during its 2009-10 Patriot League Championship campaign, but that didn’t come until the postseason. The last time Lehigh was 10 games over .500 in the regular season was on Feb. 24, 1988 when a 77-63 win over Towson bumped the squad’s record to 18-8.
The Mountain Hawks are also looking to start 4-2 in league play for the first time since 2009-10. After dropping both games against Navy during the team’s championship campaign, the Mountain Hawks bounced back last year by sweeping three games. That included an 87-75 win in the Patriot League Quarterfinals. The Midshipmen enter at 3-16, but have hung tough against some of the league’s best.
Trailing by two at the half, Lehigh broke out for 53 second-half points to top Lafayette on Sunday, 90-76. Junior C.J. McCollum led the way with 26 points, including 19 in the second half and one stretch when he scored 12 in a row. Junior classmates Gabe Knutson and Holden Greiner also reached double figures with 17 and 12, respectively. Freshman point guard Corey Schaefer was strong in his first-career start, playing a career-high 35 minutes while scoring nine points and helping Lehigh reach 90 points for the third time this season and first since a 95-55 victory over Arcadia more than a month ago.
McCollum’s 26 helped him past former Lehigh standout Brett Eppehimer for sixth in school history and eighth in Patriot League history with 1,751 career points. He needs only 12 on Thursday to pass Jose Olivero for fifth and seventh, respectively, while he needs 25 points to tie former Colgate and NBA great Adonal Foyle, who racked up 1,776 in his career.
The Mountain Hawks shot 58 percent from the field (30-of-52) Sunday, the team’s highest shooting percentage in Brett Reed’s era as Lehigh head coach. The Mountain Hawks held a 26-24 edge in rebounding; the squad has now outrebounded its opponent in four straight games, six of its last seven and nine of its last 12. The Mountain Hawks only had seven turnovers for the game (including only one in the first half). Lehigh has posted single-digit turnovers in two straight games, and six games overall this year.
Navy has been through a tough season thus far, coming in with a 3-16 record, 0-5 in Patriot League play. Former Penn State head coach Ed DeChellis is his first year in Annapolis, leading a squad which started 3-4, but has lost 12 in a row since. The wins have come against Longwood (78-70), Penn State Altoona (88-54) and Mount St. Mary’s (64-56) while the Mids have dropped a number of close contests, hanging tough against the Patriot League’s best. That includes a two-point defeat vs. Lafayette, four-point loss at Holy Cross and seven-point defeat against American. Reigning league Rookie of the Year J.J. Avila has continued his strong play into 2011-12, leading the team in scoring (16.6) and rebounding (7.3) while preseason All-League honoree Jordan Sugars is second with 11.3 points. Freshman Worth Smith has come on, averaging 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds. Despite losing 12 in a row, Navy has been extremely competitive all year as shown by its slim minus-5.4 average scoring margin.
Navy holds a 44-20 lead in the all-time series, but the Mountain Hawks have won three in a row (all last season). Lehigh swept the season series for the first time since 2005-06, winning both regular season contests along with an 87-75 final in the Patriot League Quarterfinals. The all-time series has featured a number of streaks with Navy winning six in a row from 2000-02 before Lehigh responded with six straight from 2003-05. The Midshipmen began the all-time series by winning 14 of the first 15 meetings in the early 1900s.
Lehigh plays game two of its three-game homestand on Sunday when it welcomes Army for a 2 p.m. tipoff. The game will be part of Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend to raise awareness and funds for cancer research. Tickets for all home games may be purchased on Lehighsports.com or by calling the ticket office at (610) 7LU-GAME.
|
Date:
|
January 26, 2012
|
|
Opponent:
|
Navy Midshipmen
|
|
Tip-off:
|
7:00 PM
|
|
Arena/Capacity:
|
Stabler Arena/5,600
|
|
Location:
|
Bethlehem, Pa.
|
|
Lehigh’s Record:
|
15-6 overall, 3-2 Patriot League
|
|
Navy’s Record:
|
3-16 overall, 0-5 Patriot League
|
|
Series:
|
Navy leads, 44-20
|
|
Radio:
|
Live on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and Lehighsports.com with Matt Kerr and Greg Falkenbach ‘72. Pregame coverage gets underway at 6:30 PM.
|
|
Television:
|
CBS Sports Network
|
|
Internet Video:
|
None
|
|
Behind Enemy Lines:
|
|