Mountain Hawks Cruise Past Holy Cross, 77-69, for Fourth Win in Last Five Games

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at Bucknell

01/13/2022 | 19 o’clock

Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM & 1230 AM

BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania – The Lehigh men’s basketball team improved to 3-1 in the Patriot League game, leading to the final 30:30 of the game en route to a 77-69 win over Holy Cross at Stabler Arena Monday night . An overall performance by the team resulted in five-year-old Marques Wilson leading the offense with 17 points while junior Evan Taylor posted 15 points and 12 rebounds for his double-double in his fourth career and his first this season.

“I thought Marques’ attacking power and efficiency were great for us in the first half,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “It helps to take some pressure off the other guys who have to work with ball handling all the time. You have someone who has some experience and fits into that role. He gets his feet under him again. With every workout, you watch him grow a bit. There is an accumulation that is taking place [after missing just over a month]. “

Wilson impressed in his second game since returning to the line-up, shooting 5-of-11 off the ground, including 2-of-4 from 3-point distance. Twelve of his 17 points came in the first half to give Lehigh a 35-26 half-time advantage. Meanwhile, Taylor scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half, creating a huge offensive spark. In year two, Dominic Parolin scored 10 points in the second half for a second game in a row and also took six boards in the second half to finish with 12 points and nine rebounds – along with a game high plus / minus of +20. For the first year, Keith Higgins Jr. was the fourth Mountain Hawk in double digits, finishing at 12 in the 4-of-8 shooting; it marked its fifth game in a row with double-digit points.

Lehigh 77, Holy Cross 69 pic.twitter.com/39tcuGUbg3

– Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) Jan 11, 2022 Preseason All-Patriot League winner Gerrale Gates led Holy Cross with 21 points and nine rebounds.

Both teams had slow offensive starts, with Holy Cross leading 4-2 on the first media timeout. The Crusaders opened an 8-2 lead, but the Mountain Hawks responded with seven in a row, crowned by a Marques Wilson driving layup to put Lehigh 9-8 ahead after 11:41 in the first half.

Just over a minute later, Parolin knocked down two free throws to help Lehigh regain an 11-10 lead, an advantage the Mountain Hawks wouldn’t give up. Those free throws kicked off a 15-10 run that included 3-pointers from Marques and Jeameril Wilson on successive possessions to put Lehigh 17-10 in the lead and force the Crusaders to sit out.

Make that an 8-0 Lehigh run. Second straight Trey for the Mountain Hawks, this one from @jeameril_wilson!

View: https://t.co/yvFxvw8TTt#GoLehigh | #AllIn pic.twitter.com/9Vj2yhQGh4

– Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) Jan 11, 2022 The Mountain Hawks resumed the run after timeout, topped by an offensive rebound from Taylor and backed up to put Lehigh in the lead at 24:10 and 4:47 in the first half left. In the end, the Mountain Hawks held the Crusaders goalless for a distance of 6:20 and held Holy Cross 0-for-8 off the ground.

Lehigh went on to open his biggest lead of the first, 33-18, at 2:42 on the clock. Holy Cross responded with an 8-2 run to end half-time and then draw within 35-26 after 20 minutes of play.

🎯 @_M_W_II

View: https://t.co/yvFxvw9rJ1#GoLehigh | #AllIn pic.twitter.com/g73pNunmzs

– Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) Jan 11, 2022 Taylor knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first 4:01 of the second half to lead the offense. The second turned a six point lead into a nine point lead, 44-35, and 15:59 remaining.

ET LEADS IT. 🔥.

View: https://t.co/yvFxvw8TTt pic.twitter.com/qoEvuCdAS2

– Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) Jan 11, 2022 For the next few minutes, Lehigh’s lead fluctuated between nine and 13 until a 5-0 rise turned a 57-46 lead into a 62-46 lead with 7:45 remaining transformed. Four of the points came from Parolin, the first being a jumper assisted by first grader Tyler Whitney-Sidney, while the second was an offensive rebound and reset. Whitney-Sidney enjoyed another strong game, making career highs in points (9) and rebounds (5) and two assists.

‼‼‼

You will want to see that. 👀 Tyler Whitney-Sidney goes around a defender and another and brings him to the trophy himself. # PLTop3

View: https://t.co/yvFxvw8TTt pic.twitter.com/nO4aubeloP

– Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) Jan 11, 2022 Holy Cross attempted to take the track back, but the Mountain Hawks’ lead never went less than eight, which turned out to be the final lead.

“I thought Evan was great tonight,” said Reed. “Just the way he bounced back on basketball, and I thought his offensive breakout early in the second half – he was able to keep his mindset and mentality despite being a bit tricky with some fouls – was really important to us Evan put us on the offensive at the beginning of the second half, and then Dom gave us a really big shot in the arm with some of his energy plays, he took a jump shot and at the end got a tip to get us get an extra possession. All of those were great games. “

For the game, Lehigh shot 46.3 percent out of the field (25-out of 54), of which 44.4 percent out of the 3-point range (8-out-of-18). Holy Cross finished with 33.8 percent (23 out of 68) and 22.2 percent behind the arch (4 out of 18). The Mountain Hawks held a 44-35 advantage on rebounds. Lehigh only had four losses in the second half to finish the game at 11, while Holy Cross flipped the ball just five times.

Lehigh men’s basketball held sacred Cross over Shoot below 45 percent! The fans in attendance received a free starter when they bought two main courses from The Brick in Bethlehem!

The Mountain Hawks will now leave for Bucknell on Thursday to face the bison. The opening tip is set for 7:00 p.m. on ESPN +.

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Gallery: (1-10-2022) Men’s Basketball vs. Holy Cross, 01/10/22

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