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Mountain Hawks hit the road for Wednesday tilt at Navy

Posted on Tuesday, February 21st, 2012 and is filed under Patriot. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Courtesy of LehighSports.com.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Riding three straight victories, the Lehigh men’s basketball team heads to Navy Wednesday for its second-to-last regular season game. Tipoff against the Midshipmen is set for 7 p.m. The game proves significant as the Mountain Hawks stand tied for second in the Patriot League standings, one game behind first-place Bucknell. With a win, Lehigh could potentially clinch the #2 seed, or stay alive for the regular season crown, depending on what happens in the Bucknell at American game Thursday night. A victory would also tie the single-season school record of 22.

A Lehigh victory coupled with an American defeat would lock the Mountain Hawks into the second seed, and a Patriot League Quarterfinal matchup with #7 Colgate. A win and a Bucknell loss would force a three-way tie atop the Patriot League standings with only one game to play. The Mountain Hawks already clinched a home game in the league quarterfinals behind an impressive week which featured a thrilling road victory at Bucknell, then home triumph over Lafayette.

Tickets for next Wednesday’s quarterfinals are now on sale and available online, over the phone (610-758-4263) or in-person at Stabler Arena, Monday-through-Friday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tickets cost $12 for adults and $6 for students/children/seniors. Season ticket holders should have received an email on Tuesday with a customer number to claim their tickets online.

Junior C.J. McCollum hit the game-winning three-pointer with less than one second remaining against the Bison before scoring 22 with eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks vs. the Leopards to earn him Patriot League Player of the Week honors (for the second straight week, fifth time in the last eight weeks, sixth time this season and 12th time in his career). He was also named College Sports Madness’ Patriot League Player of the Week.

The seniors also impressed on Senior Day as John Adams scored a career-high 14 points while adding 10 rebounds for his second-career double-double and first since freshman season. Justin Maneri tied his career high of nine points while Jordan Hamilton also added four and three rebounds.
Lehigh is looking to tie the school record for wins in a season (22), set during the squad’s 2009-10 Patriot League Championship campaign. A win would give the Mountain Hawks their fourth straight, which would mark their third winning streak of four or more games this season. Lehigh would reach 10 Patriot League victories, reaching double figures for the fifth time in school history (previously in 1990-91, 2003-04, 2005-06 and 2009-10).

Navy has struggled through a tough 3-23 season thus far, losing 19 in a row entering Wednesday night. The Midshipmen began 3-4, but haven’t found the win column since. Navy has been close to earning its first Patriot League victory, falling at Army in double overtime three games ago while dropping a two-point heartbreaker to Colgate. The Midshipmen also hung within single digits against Lafayette, Holy Cross and American. Navy’s leading scorer and rebounder J.J. Avila was suspended indefinitely for violation of Academy rules, and the team has struggled to score since, which includes two games in the 40s. Jordan Sugars leads the way with 11.6 points per game, along with 4.9 rebounds, second behind Worth Smith’s 5.1 boards per contest. Isaiah Roberts has also emerged in the starting lineup, averaging 6.2 points per game.

Lehigh has won four in a row against Navy, but still trails in the all-time series, 44-21. Last year, the Mountain Hawks swept the season series for the first time since 2005-06, winning both regular season contests along with an 87-75 final in the Patriot League Quarterfinals. The all-time series has featured a number of streaks with Navy winning six in a row from 2000-02 before Lehigh responded with six straight from 2003-05. The Midshipmen began the all-time series by winning 14 of the first 15 meetings in the early 1900s.

The Mountain Hawks round out regular season play at Army Saturday (4 p.m.). Lehigh will then host a Patriot League Quarterfinal game next Wednesday (Feb. 29) at 7 p.m. Tickets may be purchased on Lehighsports.com, over the phone (610-758-4263) or in-person at Stabler Arena, Monday-through-Friday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tickets cost $12 for adults and $6 for students/children/seniors.

Like Lehigh Men’s Basketball on Facebook for exclusive content, team updates and more: http://www.facebook.com/LehighMensBasketball. Vote C.J. McCollum for the Lou Henson Award: http://www.votelouhenson.com/.

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