skip navigation

Jordan Cohen rises to occasion in first Lehigh start

11/20/2016, 7:00pm EST
By Zach Drapkin & Josh Verlin

Jordan Cohen (above) had 20 points and six assists as Lehigh won its home opener on Sunday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Zach Drapkin (@ZachDrapkin)
--

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Jordan Cohen was feeling good.

The 6-foot-1 freshman guard had been somewhat quiet in practice, according to his Lehigh teammates and coaches. But he left no doubt that when the lights come on that he is, in the words of head coach Brett Reed, “a baller.”

That was obvious enough when, early in the second half of the Mountain Hawks’ home opener against Princeton on Sunday, Cohen went up to attempt a dunk after a whistle blew, but decided against it at the last second and pulled the ball in.

“Let’s not talk about that dunk,” he said after the game with a smile. “I was just in the game and I was feeling it.”

Though Reed, Lehigh’s 10th-year coach, certainly isn’t in favor of disrespecting opponents, he liked seeing some emotion out of the Tarzana, Calif. native.

“It was good to see a little bit of that swagger, beating his chest and feeling good about his own individual performance,” Reed said. “Now obviously as a coach you never want to cross that line and do anything that’s disrespectful to our opponents, but this is a game that we love, and we want that love to show through.”

With Cohen set up to take over Lehigh’s starting point guard job once junior Kahron Ross graduates, his 20-point, six-assist performance in the 76-67 win certainly reassured Reed that he’s more than qualified for the role.

The freshman showed bursts of promise in Lehigh’s first two games, scoring nine points in 11 minutes against Xavier and notching four assists against Yale. But that was only a glimpse of what was to follow at Stabler Arena on Sunday.

Cohen took the reins to lead the Mountain Hawks to their first win of the season as Ross, a third-year starter and All-Patriot League first-teamer, sat out with a minor leg injury.

On the floor for all but 85 seconds of the contest, Cohen gained confidence as the game progressed. After scoring just 5 points over the first 19 minutes of the game, Cohen converted an and-one with 44.9 to go in the first half and held the momentum from that basket through the break.

“As he knocked down some open shots and found some open players, he started playing with a little bit of swagger, and that’s exactly what we needed,” senior forward Tim Kempton said.

Cohen knocked down two consecutive threes a couple of minutes into the second half to give Lehigh a seven-point lead, and later hit two more jump shots, including a tough pull-up as he moved from right to left in the lane.

His most important play came with Lehigh clinging to a one-point lead and under two minutes to play, when he drove down the right side of the lane and found Kempton with a wrap-around pass for a crucial three-point play.

“It was a tremendous find,” Kempton said. “He had two guys draped over him and found me in the middle of the court. That’s what big-time players do.”

Kempton, the two-time defending Patriot League Player of the Year, finished with a double-double of 24 points and 11 boards, adding four assists and a trio of powerful blocks as well. Cohen certainly enjoys playing with the 6-11 Phoenix, Ariz. native, who’s unlike any paint presence he’s played with before.

“Whenever I drive, I’m looking for Tim,” Cohen said. “He’s the best player in the Patriot League, so anytime you can give him the ball, it’s a good chance we’re scoring.”

It’s daunting to think that Lehigh’s offensive game could be as effective as it was against Princeton without Ross, its all-league floor general.

Reed said that while Ross will not likely be back for the Mountain Hawks’ showdown at Mississippi State on Friday night, he should be back “much before” the start of conference play on Dec. 30.

So while Reed won’t have to count on getting 20 points from Cohen every game, it’s encouraging to know that if Ross goes down again, he’s got quite the formidable replacement.

“He stepped up big time and that’s going to be necessary for our team all year long,” Kempton said. “The whole ‘next man up’ mentality is going to be a big one in our season this year.”


Recruiting News:

HS Coverage:

Tag(s): Home  Josh Verlin  Events  Division I  Zach Drapkin