Five Mountain Hawks Score in Double Figures as Lehigh Beats Army West Point, 84-71

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01/28/2022 | 17 o’clock

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BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Lehigh men’s basketball team improved 6-3 in the Patriot League game and beat Army West Point 84-71 behind five players in double digits Wednesday night at Stabler Arena. After leading 33-30 at halftime, the Mountain Hawks lost 51 points in the second half, including 9 of 16 3-pointers in the last 20 minutes (and 14 of 30 for the game — just one down). tying the program’s stabler arena record).

Freshman Tyler Whitney-Sidney was the leader, setting a new career high with 19 points (including 13 in the second half) and finishing the field with 7 out of 10 points. Junior Evan Taylor added 16 points (11 in the second half), shooting 6 of 12 from the floor and 4 of 8 from 3-point range. Freshman Keith Higgins Jr. had 13 points, 11 in the second half, while senior Jeameril Wilson had 12 points and classmate Nic Lynch added 11.

Lots of highlights in this one! pic.twitter.com/gBlEf4VEN2

— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 27, 2022 “We had an offensive blast tonight that was really impressive,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “We had 21 assists on 32 field goals and a lot of them just looked good. If we make quick decisions, if we don’t push through too much, we end up finding chances and making the games.

“You’re talking five-guy balance in double figures, but I also thought Jake Betlow gave us some great minutes early on, too,” Reed continued. “Then we could have rocked him a little longer in the second half – because he made good plays and extra passes that led to an assist for the next man. I thought our boys shared basketball, played together, played altruistically, and the byproduct put a lot of points on the board.”

Army’s top scorer Jalen Rucker led the Black Knights Wednesday night, scoring 18 points. Lehigh’s victory came after a 77-55 loss at Army earlier this month to level the season’s 1-1 streak and end a three-game losing streak against the Black Knights.

With the win, the Mountain Hawks advance to a four-way tie for second place in the Patriot League standings. Lehigh, Army, Navy and Loyola are all 6-3.

Betlow started the goal for Lehigh by dumping a 3-pointer just seconds after entering the game. A pull-up jumper from Higgins followed as Lehigh led 10-4 on the first media timeout.

Enter the game ➡️ Knock down a three.@jake_betlow 😎

Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/YQXjRNeAoS pic.twitter.com/trpX9LL19x

— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 27, 2022 The Army responded with 12 of the next 16 points when a fast break layup by Aaron Duhart gave the Black Knights their first lead, 16-14, with a 9:39 in the first half. In this period, the Army defense kept the Mountain Hawks scoreless for almost three minutes until a 3-pointer by Jeameril Wilson gave Lehigh a 17-16 lead.

Teams continued to go back and forth, with the lead changing six times. Army’s greatest lead was 25-21, but the Mountain Hawks responded with an 8-0 run to take a 29-25 lead, with two straight 3-pointers from fifth-grader Marques Wilson while they nearly took the Army Gut held without a goal for four minutes. Lehigh took a 33-30 lead at halftime.

From bottom four to top four. Big 8-0 run for Lehigh crowned by this Marques (@_M_W_II) 👌

Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/YQXjRNeAoS pic.twitter.com/9doU9BtpYu

— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 27, 2022 The Black Knights used an 8-2 run in the second half to forge a 44-42 lead, their first lead since 25-21, and it would prove to be their last. Lehigh responded with an 11-2 run starting with a Whitney-Sidney 3-pointer, layup and fastbreak dunk. It continued with 3-pointers from Lynch and Higgins to give the Mountain Hawks a 53-46 lead with 12:02 on the clock.

down one? The Mountain Hawks are responding in a BIG way. This Trey from @keith_higgins13 caps an 11-2 Lehigh run!

Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/YQXjRNeAoS pic.twitter.com/LjwqKfaOFI

– Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 27, 2022 “Getting performance from Tyler is really important and we’re seeing him put in a lot of defensive performance because of his athleticism, speed and determination,” Reed said. “He found an identity with our team to be a defender and he’s embracing that and people realize he’s good at it. He brought the defensive intensity, scored for us and also made some really nice passes .”

How about a 3-pointer, steal and slam in less than 30 sequences? What an episode for @twhitneysidney 👀 He hits a career high of 15 in this episode.

Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/YQXjRNeAoS pic.twitter.com/l2SmzFEcsj

— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 27, 2022 The 3-pointers kept coming as Lehigh knocked down eight of his first 12 and nine of his first 14 behind the arc in the second half when a Taylor-Trey laid the mountain Hawks ahead, 72-58, with 5:35 remaining. Lehigh took his biggest lead of the game, 78-62, with 3:50 left after a 3-point play from Higgins, en route to an 84-71 win.

Lehigh’s offense fired during the second half, shooting 61.3 percent from field (19 of 31) and 56.3 percent from the 3-point line (9 of 16). For the game, the Mountain Hawks shot 55.2 percent from the ground (32 of 58), with 46.7 percent from behind the arc (14 of 30). Army finished with 47.2 percent from the field (25 of 53), including 21.4 percent from the 3-pointer (3 of 14). Lehigh outrebounded Army, 33-28.

The Mountain Hawks will now head to Holy Cross on Friday to face the Crusaders. The opening tip is scheduled for 5 p.m. on ESPN+. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. but was pushed back earlier due to the looming snow storm in New England.

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