Mountain Hawks will host championship game
Lehigh returns to Stabler Arena to host the Patriot League championship game at noon Sunday, March 14, against American.
Tickets for the game are on sale at the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office in Grace Hall, or by calling (610) 7LU-GAME.
Top-seeded Lehigh advanced to the Patriot League championship game with a 60-45 victory over No. 4 Bucknell in the semifinal matchup at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md., on Sunday evening.
The Mountain Hawks (19-10) will appear in the title game for the first time in school history, while the Bison wrapped up their season with a 14-15 mark.
The Bison came out fired up, and used two three-point field goals from Kevin Bettencourt to take a 6-0 lead with 15:31 to go in the opening half. The Bucknell lead was short-lived, however, as the Mountain Hawks raced out on a 23-2 spurt over the next 9:45 to take a comfortable 23-8 lead.
The game see-sawed back and forth over the final 5:56 of the opening frame, and the Mountain Hawks jogged back to their locker room with a 36-20 lead.
In the second half, Lehigh kept up the defensive pressure and never allowed the Bison to creep any closer than nine points. Despite Bettencourt’s six quick points, Lehigh held him to just four more for the remainder of the contest.
The stifling Mountain Hawks pressure caused problems for Bucknell all night, holding the Bison to just 32% field goal shooting for the game.
Senior guard Austen Rowland said that defensive toughness was the key to Lehigh’s success.
“We just talked about playing great ‘D,’ and trying to lock them up,” he said. “We knew our shots would eventually fall.”
“This was a great effort from our guys,” said Lehigh head coach Billy Taylor. “This was a terrific overall performance for us, and although Bucknell fought hard, we were able to come away with a victory.”
Freshman Jose Olivero and sophomore reserve Kevin Tempest led Lehigh in the scoring column with 12 points apiece. Rowland finished with nine points and an impressive eight assists. Freshman Jason Mgebroff added 10 points and six rebounds in the win.
Tickets for the game are on sale at the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office in Grace Hall, or by calling (610) 7LU-GAME.
Top-seeded Lehigh advanced to the Patriot League championship game with a 60-45 victory over No. 4 Bucknell in the semifinal matchup at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md., on Sunday evening.
The Mountain Hawks (19-10) will appear in the title game for the first time in school history, while the Bison wrapped up their season with a 14-15 mark.
The Bison came out fired up, and used two three-point field goals from Kevin Bettencourt to take a 6-0 lead with 15:31 to go in the opening half. The Bucknell lead was short-lived, however, as the Mountain Hawks raced out on a 23-2 spurt over the next 9:45 to take a comfortable 23-8 lead.
The game see-sawed back and forth over the final 5:56 of the opening frame, and the Mountain Hawks jogged back to their locker room with a 36-20 lead.
In the second half, Lehigh kept up the defensive pressure and never allowed the Bison to creep any closer than nine points. Despite Bettencourt’s six quick points, Lehigh held him to just four more for the remainder of the contest.
The stifling Mountain Hawks pressure caused problems for Bucknell all night, holding the Bison to just 32% field goal shooting for the game.
Senior guard Austen Rowland said that defensive toughness was the key to Lehigh’s success.
“We just talked about playing great ‘D,’ and trying to lock them up,” he said. “We knew our shots would eventually fall.”
“This was a great effort from our guys,” said Lehigh head coach Billy Taylor. “This was a terrific overall performance for us, and although Bucknell fought hard, we were able to come away with a victory.”
Freshman Jose Olivero and sophomore reserve Kevin Tempest led Lehigh in the scoring column with 12 points apiece. Rowland finished with nine points and an impressive eight assists. Freshman Jason Mgebroff added 10 points and six rebounds in the win.
Posted on:
Sunday, March 07, 2004
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