Mountain Hawks Defeat Holy Cross on the Road for Series Sweep and Claim Seventh-Straight Win

next game:

Boston University

1/29/2023 | 12:00 PM

Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM

Jan 29 (Sun) / 12:00 PM

Boston University

History

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Lehigh men’s basketball team recorded its seventh-straight victory by taking down Holy Cross, 74-68, inside the Hart Center on Wednesday night to earn the season sweep of the Crusaders.

The Mountain Hawks improve to 12-8 overall and 7-2 in Patriot League action while Holy Cross falls to 7-15 on the year and 4-5 in league play. The Mountain Hawks have won six of the last seven meetings between the two programs and have swept the Crusaders this season.

“Holy Cross has a good coaching staff with talented athletes that were able to attack coming out of the locker room, which frustrated us, but our guys were able to weather the storm,” stated head coach Dr. Brett Reed.

Both squads were scoreless for the first two minutes before sophomore Keith Higgins Jr. sank the game’s first basket to give Lehigh a 2-0 lead. The Crusaders hit a couple of free throws, then the Mountain Hawks went on a run and led by 12 points, 17-5 with 12:36 remaining in the half. Lehigh led by 14 points, 21-7, before Holy Cross surged back to within four points, 25-21 with under eight minutes in the half. A minute later, Lehigh inched ahead by double-figures, 31-21. The Crusaders trailed by 14 points and got within nine, but the Brown and White would hold a 47-35 advantage at the half.

BEHIND THE BACK PASS AND HOOK SHOT FINISH!! Sinclair feeds Parolin in the paint and gets the finish. Lehigh holds a double-digit lead in the final minute. #GoLehigh

Watch on @PatriotLeagueTV and @ESPN – https://t.co/1rkyqzE6un pic.twitter.com/QDYnlcVxJq

— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 26, 2023

The second half started with a pair of free throws followed by a Crusaders’ 10-0 run to cut the lead down to four points at 49-45. Only six points were scored over the next four minutes, with Lehigh clinging to an eight-point lead. Holy Cross got within two points, 53-51, with just over 10 minutes to play. Sophomore Tyler Whitney-Sidney sank a jumper and made a free throw, followed by a dunk from first-year Henri Adiassa that forced the Crusaders to call a timeout down 58-51 with 7:40 remaining in the game.

Reed added, “I thought we were flowing very well in the first half, but we were not defending as well and made some careless turnovers which Holy Cross turned into a run, so we had to collect ourselves and counter with a run of our own .”

MONSTER FLUSH!! Adiassa gets open and throws it down to ignite the Mountain Hawks!! #GoLehigh

Watch on @PatriotLeagueTV and @ESPN – https://t.co/1rkyqzE6un pic.twitter.com/6iAnO0LVmo

— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 26, 2023

The Brown and White extended their lead back to double-digits, 63-53, but Holy Cross would not go away quietly, cutting the lead to just four points, 64-60. Another dunk from Adiassa pushed the advantage to six points, but a three-pointer from Will Batchelder put the Crusaders within just one possession. Junior Jalin Sinclair stepped into a wide-open three-pointer to get the lead back to six points, 69-63, which was countered by Bo Montgomery to put the score at 69-66 with 1:22 to play in regulation. The next possession had Higgins Jr. drain a deep three-pointer to extend the lead back to six points and ice the game, giving the Mountain Hawks a 74-68 victory.

Senior Evan Taylor led a trio of Mountain Hawks that reached double-digits, scoring 17 points with 12 coming in the first half, to go with a team-high six rebounds and one assist. This is Taylor’s 13th consecutive game scoring at least 10 points and he has done so in 18 of 20 games this season.

Higgins Jr. ended the night with 16 points, including a couple of clutch three-pointers down the final stretch of the second half. He also contributed three boards, two steals and an assist in his fourth straight game reaching double-digits. Whitney-Sidney tossed in 14 points and shot 46.2 percent (6-for-13) from the field to go along with three rebounds.

FROM DOWNTOWN!! Higgins Jr. drains a trey from long-distance to extend the Mountain Hawks lead with under a minute remaining! #GoLehigh

Watch on @PatriotLeagueTV and @ESPN – https://t.co/1rkyqzE6un pic.twitter.com/AWhaPelCaI

— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 26, 2023

Junior Dominic Parolin scored nine points for the Brown and White, shooting 66.7 percent (4-of-6), while bringing down five rebounds, two assists and blocking a shot. Both Adiassa and Sinclair each added five points each while senior Reed Fenton was solid defensively, earning three total charges drawn and contributing a rebound and a blocked shot.

“Reed (Fenton) came in the game and gave us unbelievable minutes, sacrificed his body and gave us momentum and game-changing plays,” Reed noted.

BATCH x2!! Fenton draws back-to-back charges to keep the Mountain Hawks in the lead. Lehigh is ahead 53-47. #GoLehigh

Watch on @PatriotLeagueTV and @ESPN – https://t.co/1rkyqzE6un pic.twitter.com/p2TiPkDo6n

— Lehigh M. Basketball (@LehighMBB) January 26, 2023 Holy Cross had four Crusaders finish in double-figures, combining for 51 of the squad’s 68 total points. Batchelder finished with 17 points while Joe Octave and Gerrale Gates each tossed in 12 points. Gates recorded a double-double with 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and led the squad with four assists. Montgomery was the other Crusader to reach double-digits, scoring 10 points and also contributed five boards, one blocked shot, an assist and one steal.

The Brown and White shot 49.2 percent (29-for-59) from the floor while shooting 38 percent (5-for-13) from long distance while Holy Cross shot 47.4 percent (27-for-57) and just 26.1 percent (6 -for-23) from behind the three-point line.

Both squads committed 12 turnovers and also recorded 12 points off of turnovers in the game. The Mountain Hawks narrowly out-rebounded Holy Cross 34-32 and dominated points in the paint, 42-28.

“Our guys stayed the course and we were able to come away with a victory on the road,” concluded Reed.

The Mountain Hawks return home to Stabler Arena on Sunday, Jan 29 to take on Boston University. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 pm and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or purchased at Stabler Arena.

Like Lehigh Men’s Basketball on Facebookfollow on Twitter other Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more. Single-game tickets are on sale HERE.