Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Late Run Lifts Lehigh to 86-77 Shootout Win over Bucknell
2/14/2022 9:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – On a night when both teams were filling it up from long range, Lehigh came up with the final flurry thanks to senior center Nic Lynch and defeated Bucknell 86-77 on Monday night at Stabler Arena.
Andrew Funk scored a game-high 24 points for the Bison, who shot 50.9 percent from the field and made 9 of 14 (.643) 3-point attempts. Lynch had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Lehigh, and it was his own personal 8-0 run in a 64-second span that stretched a two-point margin to 10 with just over two minutes to play.
Andre Screen tallied 16 points and eight rebounds, Xander Rice had 14 points and five assists, and Jake van der Heijden added 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting from the arc, making him 7-for-7 over the last three games.
Marques Wilson, a fifth-year senior, sparked another big night from downtown for Lehigh (10-17, 8-7 PL) by hitting 5 of 7, including 4 of 5 in the second half. The Mountain Hawks hit a school-record 18 3-pointers in 34 attempts in a win at Sojka Pavilion earlier in the season, and they went 14-for-24 (.583) in this one.
Bucknell led by five points at halftime and by eight early in the second half after a Funk layup made it 46-38. Screen took a charge on Lynch, but the Bison missed a shot to extend the margin to double figures and Keith Higgins Jr. followed with two threes to get Lehigh back in it.
The bulk of the second half was a true shootout, with both teams answering the other with a flurry of long-range jumpers. There were nine lead changes and four ties over a five-minute span, but Lynch was the catalyst down the stretch for Lehigh.
The game was tied at 71 after a Screen free throw with 5:49 to play. Lynch then hit 3 of 4 at the stripe, and after Bucknell missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Higgins followed his own miss for a 76-71 Lehigh lead. Funk swished an open three from the left wing to make it 76-74, but then Lynch scored in the post followed by two straight 3-pointers from the top of the key, and just like that it was a 10-point game with 2:32 to play.
Bucknell (6-21, 3-12 PL) hit 5 of 6 3-point attempts and shot 52 percent overall in the first half on the way to a 40-35 lead at intermission. van der Heijden's second trey of the half gave the Bison a 28-18 lead before Lehigh got back in it with some long balls of its own.
The Mountain Hawks started the night 0-for-4 but then hit five in a row. Two straight by Jeameril Wilson along with a Tyler Whitney-Sidney layup comprised an 8-1 run and pulled Lehigh within two at 31-29.
Josh Adoh answered with a trey for Bucknell, followed by a spinning layup by Screen. Funk fed Screen for a pair of dunks on pick-and-roll plays in the first half, the latter coming with five seconds left in the half to put the Bison up five at the break.
Bucknell had 17 assists on 27 made field goals with only seven turnovers. The starting backcourt of Funk, Rice, and Elvin Edmonds IV combined for 13 assists with one turnover. Lehigh was just as efficient with 19 assists and eight turnovers.
The Mountain Hawks finished with a 40-26 rebounding edge, including a 10-1 advantage on the offensive glass that led to a 16-0 margin in second-chance points.
Bucknell has three regular-season games remaining, with two of them at home. Next up is Lafayette at Sojka Pavilion on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Gallery: (2-14-2022) Men's Basketball at Lehigh
Andrew Funk scored a game-high 24 points for the Bison, who shot 50.9 percent from the field and made 9 of 14 (.643) 3-point attempts. Lynch had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Lehigh, and it was his own personal 8-0 run in a 64-second span that stretched a two-point margin to 10 with just over two minutes to play.
Andre Screen tallied 16 points and eight rebounds, Xander Rice had 14 points and five assists, and Jake van der Heijden added 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting from the arc, making him 7-for-7 over the last three games.
Marques Wilson, a fifth-year senior, sparked another big night from downtown for Lehigh (10-17, 8-7 PL) by hitting 5 of 7, including 4 of 5 in the second half. The Mountain Hawks hit a school-record 18 3-pointers in 34 attempts in a win at Sojka Pavilion earlier in the season, and they went 14-for-24 (.583) in this one.
Bucknell led by five points at halftime and by eight early in the second half after a Funk layup made it 46-38. Screen took a charge on Lynch, but the Bison missed a shot to extend the margin to double figures and Keith Higgins Jr. followed with two threes to get Lehigh back in it.
The bulk of the second half was a true shootout, with both teams answering the other with a flurry of long-range jumpers. There were nine lead changes and four ties over a five-minute span, but Lynch was the catalyst down the stretch for Lehigh.
The game was tied at 71 after a Screen free throw with 5:49 to play. Lynch then hit 3 of 4 at the stripe, and after Bucknell missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Higgins followed his own miss for a 76-71 Lehigh lead. Funk swished an open three from the left wing to make it 76-74, but then Lynch scored in the post followed by two straight 3-pointers from the top of the key, and just like that it was a 10-point game with 2:32 to play.
Bucknell (6-21, 3-12 PL) hit 5 of 6 3-point attempts and shot 52 percent overall in the first half on the way to a 40-35 lead at intermission. van der Heijden's second trey of the half gave the Bison a 28-18 lead before Lehigh got back in it with some long balls of its own.
The Mountain Hawks started the night 0-for-4 but then hit five in a row. Two straight by Jeameril Wilson along with a Tyler Whitney-Sidney layup comprised an 8-1 run and pulled Lehigh within two at 31-29.
Josh Adoh answered with a trey for Bucknell, followed by a spinning layup by Screen. Funk fed Screen for a pair of dunks on pick-and-roll plays in the first half, the latter coming with five seconds left in the half to put the Bison up five at the break.
OH MY, ANDRE SCREEN 🔨 @Bucknell_MBB pic.twitter.com/5dkBK7XQi9
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) February 15, 2022
Bucknell had 17 assists on 27 made field goals with only seven turnovers. The starting backcourt of Funk, Rice, and Elvin Edmonds IV combined for 13 assists with one turnover. Lehigh was just as efficient with 19 assists and eight turnovers.
The Mountain Hawks finished with a 40-26 rebounding edge, including a 10-1 advantage on the offensive glass that led to a 16-0 margin in second-chance points.
Bucknell has three regular-season games remaining, with two of them at home. Next up is Lafayette at Sojka Pavilion on Saturday at 4 p.m.
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