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Quick Report: Yale 79, Lehigh 67

11/19/2015, 9:00pm EST
By Josh Verlin & Jeff Griffith

Jack Montague (above) set a new career-high with 21 points for Yale in the 79-67 win. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Jeff Griffith (@jeff_griffith21)
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- In a matchup of two preseason league favorites, Yale and the Ivy League took home a victory over Lehigh and the Patriot League as the Bulldogs came into Stabler Arena and walked out with a 79-67 win thanks to stellar games from two seniors.

At First...
Despite missing eleven of their first fourteen shot attempts and having seven of their first half shots blocked, the Mountain Hawks managed to hang with the Ivy League preseason favorites, who out-rebounded Lehigh 25-15 and outscored them 14-2 in the paint. Yale entered the half up 36-28 thanks to a late 11-3 run, capped off by a Sam Downey buzzer-beating three. Yale's Jack Montague led first half scoring for both teams with twelve points, while Lehigh's Tim Kempton dropped 8 to lead the Mountain Hawks.

Turning Point...
Lehigh quickly cut the Yale deficit to four points in the first few minutes of the second half, but then the Bulldogs got hot from deep. Two 3-pointers by Jack Montague and another by Justin Sears helped the lead quickly get back up to 12 points; the Mountain Hawks would threaten several times in the final 10 minutes, but the deficit proved too much to overcome.

The final push came with under four minutes remaining, when Kahron Ross had a chance at a three-point play to close the gap to two points, but he was unable to connect. On the next possession, Kempton lost control of his dribble and the resulting scramble for the ball both gave Yale a wide-open layup to make it a seven-point game with three minutes left and temporarily knocked Kempton out of action after he hurt himself diving for the ball.

Standout Stars...
Lehigh junior Austin Price paced the Mountain Hawks with 23 point on 8-of-16 shooting, including 2-of-5 from beyond the arc; he added three assists, three steals and two rebounds as well. Kempton, the defending Patriot League Player of the Year, had a rough night from the floor (3-of-13) but finished with 16 points and six rebounds, plus two assists and two steals.

Sears had a tremendous all-around game for the Bulldogs, as he was a one-man wrecking crew on both sides of the ball. The senior forward flirted with a quadruple-double, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and a career-high eight blocks, shooting 6-of-13 from the floor including making his only 3-point attempt. Montague, a senior guard, also added a career-high 21 points for Yale on 6-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-9 on his 3-point shooting.

Noteworthy Numbers...
It was certainly a block party for the Bulldogs, who sent back twelve Lehigh shots. Yale’s physicality also showed up in the on the glass, as they outrebounded Lehigh by an overwhelming 48-26 margin.

Both teams shot the three-ball remarkably well; Yale made 42-percent of their three-pointers, while the Mountain Hawks shot from long distance at a 37-percent clip. The two sides combined for 41 fouls in what continues to be a foul-heavy season of basketball around the country.

Up Next...
Lehigh (0-3) @ Columbia (1-1) (Nov. 21, 4:00 p.m.)
Yale (3-0) @ Southern Methodist (1-0) (Nov. 22, 4:30 p.m.)

 

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