Posted: 01/20/2012 | Last updated: January 21, 2012 at 12:57 PM
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men’s basketball team looks to bounce back from a 68-61 loss to Bucknell when it travels to crosstown rival Lafayette Sunday to face the Leopards. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will air nationally on CBS Sports Network with Bob Socci and Vince Curran on the call. The Mountain Hawks (14-6, 2-2 Patriot League) enter Sunday one game behind Lafayette (8-11, 3-1) in the league standings.
Lehighsports.com will be running a special live interactive blog during Sunday’s game. Follow along live by clicking here while you’re listening to or watching the game. Fans can also follow from through their phone via the mobile blog. Questions and comments are encouraged.
Lehigh and Bucknell played a back-and-forth affair on Wednesday as two of the league’s best played neck-and-neck down the stretch. The Mountain Hawks played from behind for much of the game, but did use an early second-half surge to jump in front, 44-43. Bucknell retook the lead and wouldn’t relinquish it the rest of the way. Lehigh pulled within one possession on multiple occasions, but couldn’t get over the hump. Junior Holden Greiner’s three-pointer with just over a minute remaining would have given the Mountain Hawks a one-point lead, but it rimmed out. The Bison then knocked down 5-of-6 free throws in the final 1:07 to end any hopes of a comeback.
Junior C.J. McCollum finished with 14 points and a career-high nine assists while senior John Adams had his third-straight double-digit scoring game with 10 on 4-of-6 shooting and 2-of-4 from three-point range. He now has 33 points over his last three games, including 9-of-13 from long distance.
Another story on Wednesday was the team’s rebounding performance, outrebounding the league’s top team in that category, 38-33, led by a balanced team effort. Sunday marks Lehigh’s second of five-straight games in the Lehigh Valley and first of two straight on CBS Sports Network as the Mountain Hawks host Navy next Thursday night in a nationally-televised affair.
The Mountain Hawks are looking for its fourth straight victory over Lafayette. A win would mark their 15th of the season, matching last year’s win total (with nine games still remaining). Lehigh is 4-1 after losses this season; the only time it has lost two straight was at St. John’s, then Iowa State. In fact, after four losses, the Mountain Hawks have responded with a winning streak of two or more games.
Lafayette has enjoyed an up-and-down season, coming in at 8-11, but an impressive 3-1 in Patriot League play. The Leopards have strong wins under their belt, like Penn State and last time out at Holy Cross, but have lost games to Sacred Heart and NJIT. Lafayette head coach Fran O’Hanlan tied the Patriot League record with his 234th career win on Thursday, 54-43 over Holy Cross. One of the squad’s statement wins came at Penn State, 61-57, when it became the first-ever Patriot League squad to defeat the Nittany Lions. Jim Mower leads the team in scoring (15.0) average while fellow senior Ryan Willen is right behind him at 14.7. Freshman Seth Hinrichs is next up at 8.9 followed by Rob Delaney at 8.3 and Tony Johnson at 7.7. Willen leads the team in rebounding (5.2) while Nick Petkovich averages 4.1 boards off the bench. Lafayette is third in the league in scoring (behind Lehigh and Army), averaging 68.8 points per game. The Leopards have also allowed 72.6 points per contest, second most in the league (only behind Colgate).
Lafayette holds a 134-78 all-time advantage, but Lehigh has been strong as of late. The Mountain Hawks have won three in a row against the Leopards, which began with the 74-59 Patriot League Championship game triumph on Mar. 12, 2010. Lafayette won nine in a row from 1997-00, but the Mountain Hawks have responded with a 14-10 record since. Lehigh’s long-standing rival, the schools first met in 1901-02, a 46-13 Lehigh victory.
Lehigh returns home next Thursday night (Jan. 26) in a second straight game aired live nation-wide on CBS Sports Network. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Tickets for all home games are now on sale and may be purchased on Lehighsports.com or by calling the ticket office at (610) 7LU-GAME.
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Date:
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January 22, 2012
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Opponent:
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Lafayette Leopards
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Tip-off:
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2:00 PM
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Arena/Capacity:
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Kirby Sports Center/3,500
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Location:
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Easton, Pa.
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Lehigh’s Record:
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14-6 overall, 2-2 Patriot League
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Lafayette’s Record:
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8-11 overall, 3-1 Patriot League
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Series:
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Lafayette leads, 134-78
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Radio:
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Live on WLVR 91.3 FM with Matt Kerr and Greg Falkenbach ‘72. Pregame coverage gets underway at 1:45 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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