BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2013 The Patriot League season began on Wednesday afternoon for Lehigh men’s basketball at Stabler Arena in a noon tip-off against Army West Point on New Year’s Eve. The Black Knights bested the Mountain Hawks 85-78 in overtime to open league play.<\/p>\n
Lehigh (4-10, 0-1 PL) now trails Army West Point (7-7, 1-0 PL) 72-50 in the all-time series. Head coach Brett Reed<\/a>‘s record against the Black Knights falls to 24-16.<\/p>\n Junior Jalen Vazquez<\/a> made his first career start and got the scoring started for the Mountain Hawks with a floater from the free throw line. Sophomore Edouard Benoit<\/a> also made his return from injury, knocking down a triple on his first shot attempt. Lehigh and Army traded buckets throughout the first half before a personal 5-0 run from Kevin McCarthy put the Black Knights up 17-11 with 11:45 to play.<\/p>\n Lehigh pulled back within two off buckets from Vazquez, Benoit and Nasir Whitlock<\/a>. Army then responded with a 9-1 run to take a 28-18 lead at the 6:00 mark, prompting a Lehigh timeout. The Mountain Hawks answered well, outscoring the Black Knights 13-5 the rest of the way to trail 33-31 at the end of the first half.<\/p>\n The Mountain Hawks came out of the half on a strong note, taking their first lead of the game off a Hank Alvey<\/a> dunk at 36-35. The two teams continued to trade baskets throughout the frame, with Lehigh leading 46-45 at the under 12 media timeout off an Alfredo Addesa<\/a> hook shot.<\/p>\n Army scored seven unanswered to lead 52-46, but Lehigh responded with a 6-0 run of their own to tie the game with 8:05 remaining. With the game in the balance, Lehigh finally found some separation thanks to a Benoit corner three with 1:40 remaining to lead 67-63. The Black Knights rallied back, tying the game at 68-68 after a Tate Laczkowski and-one. Whitlock’s mid-range jumper wouldn’t fall at the buzzer, forcing an overtime period.<\/p>\n The Black Knights struck first in overtime, taking the lead on two Jaxson Bell free throws. Leading 76-74, Army’s Ryan Curry knocked down a corner three to extend the Black Knights’ advantage to five with 1:18 to go. Army made their free throws down the stretch to open Patriot League play 1-0.<\/p>\n Lehigh posted shooting splits of 46.8% (29-62) from the field, 27.3% (6-22) from three, and 60.9% (14-23) from the free throw line. Army shot 45.6% (26-57) from the floor, 31.8% (7-22) from distance, and 70.3% (26-37) from the charity stripe. Army benefitted from a 46-26 advantage on the glass, including 14 offensive rebounds that turned into 17 second-chance points.<\/p>\n Alvey led the way for Lehigh with 21 points and six rebounds. Whitlock posted 18 points with a career-high eight assists. Benoit joined them in double-digits with 11 points in his first action since November 9.<\/p>\n Curry led the Black Knights with a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds. Five other Black Knights scored in double-figures, those being Jackson Furman (15p), Jacen Holloway (13p), Jaxson Bell (12p), Tate Laczkowski (11p), and Jorn Everson (10p).<\/p>\n The Mountain Hawks continue Patriot League play on Saturday, January 3 at 5 p.m. on the road at Bucknell.<\/p>\n Like Lehigh men’s basketball on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>, follow on\u00a0X<\/a>\u00a0(formerly Twitter) and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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