Courtesy of LehighSports.com
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh’s senior All-League players Austin Price and Tim Kempton combined for 47 points to help lead the third-seeded Mountain Hawks to a hard-fought 77-72 win over No. 6 seed Colgate in the Patriot League Quarterfinals on Thursday evening in Stabler Arena. Price scored a season-high 27 points while Kempton recorded his seventh double-double in the last eight games with 20 points, 10 rebounds, a career-high five blocks and three steals. With the win, Lehigh (19-11) advances to the Patriot League Semifinals at Boston University (18-13) on Sunday.
“Colgate played a good game,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. “It was one of these games where we had to match to them a little bit and play a little bit more their style than our style. We couldn’t be stubborn, either. Our guys were able to overcome and recover. I thought we started the game with a little bit too much adrenaline. We had shots that were open, but we weren’t able to convert and it made us press a little bit more. Fortunately for us, we were able to get some defensive energy, which led to a run to close the margin at the half.”
Price came just one point from tying a career high (also against Colgate), finishing 8-of-15 from the field including 4-of-7 from three-point range. Kempton already had a career-high four blocks in the game’s first 6:40, finishing the game with five. Kempton’s 20 points gave him 1,990 for his career. Sophomore Kyle Leufroy finished with 11 points, season-high tying seven rebounds along with three assists and one steal. Junior Kahron Ross had six points and seven assists, all coming after halftime.
Both teams had slow starts offensively as a Kempton three-pointer evened the score at three with 16:08 remaining in the first half. Colgate went on to take a 13-8 advantage, but the Mountain Hawks scored nine of the next 11 points as freshman Jordan Cohen hit a jumper then hit a free throw 23 seconds later to give Lehigh a 17-15 lead with 7:38 left in the first.
Lehigh led 23-22 following a Price three with less than five minutes remaining, but Colgate staged a 9-0 run to take a 31-23 advantage with 1:28 on the clock. However, the Mountain Hawks ended the first half with a flurry, staging a 9-2 run as a Brandon Alston jumper with seven seconds remaining followed by a Price trey as the half expired, pulled Lehigh within 33-32 after 20 minutes of play.
Two straight Kempton layups gave Lehigh a 36-35 lead less than two minutes into the second half, extending the Mountain Hawks’ run to 13-4 from the end of the first half. Colgate responded and eventually went up five, 48-43, following a Will Rayman three-point play with 14:40 on the clock.
Kempton reached four personal fouls with 11:28 remaining as Lehigh trailed 50-49. But his teammates stepped up. Over the next seven minutes, the Mountain Hawks outscored Colgate 18-8 to take a nine-point, 67-58 advantage following Price’s fourth three-pointer of the game.
Kempton returned to the lineup with 4:39 remaining and helped the Mountain Hawks wrap up the victory. Colgate did pull within five with 51 seconds remaining, but Lehigh hits its free throws down the stretch to seal the 77-72 win. The Mountain Hawks have reached at least the league semifinals in six of the last eight seasons.
For the game, Lehigh shot 47.1 percent from the field (24-of-51), including 42.1 percent from three-point range (8-of-19). Colgate finished at 46.4 percent (26-of-56) and 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from long distance.
The Mountain Hawks are now set to play at Boston University on Sunday in the Patriot League Semifinals. Opening tipoff is set for 12 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Lehigh and Boston University tied for second place in the final standings, both with 12-6 league marks.
“We have to move the ball quickly and get ourselves into spots (against Boston University),” said Reed. “We can’t let missing a shot or having a call go against you take your focus off the possession at hand. In each of the games against Boston, there were situations when we diverted our focus from what was most important. We have a formula attacking a zone defense that’s been successful over the history of Lehigh Basketball. Our guys have to react and make the simple plays.”
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