City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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Lehigh fell to 0-4 Sunday in a lopsided, 88-61 loss at Columbia.

Columbia shot 58.3 percent from the field, 55 percent from distance and outrebounded the Mountain Hawks, 36-24. This marks the second consecutive season that Lehigh has lost its first four games, and it won’t get any easier, as the team’s next two games are road contests at No. 6 Virginia and No. 21 Purdue.

At first…
The game was close for about six minutes. Lehigh made five of its first seven shots, including a pair of 3-pointers. Columbia went 5-for-9 in that span and held a 13-12 lead with 15 minutes left.

Turning point…
It was right around the 15-minute mark when Lehigh went on a scoring drought of 6:14. It was part of a larger, 28-10 run that the Lions used to close out the half. It was another slow start offensively for Lehigh, which has scored 28 points or less in three of its four first halves this season. The Mountain Hawks, who managed only 12 first-half points in their opener against Syracuse, are averaging 25.8 points during the first 20 minutes of games this season.

Shining stars…
Tim Kempton led all scorers with 20 points, which came on 6-of-9 shooting and a 7-for-9 effort from the foul line. The preseason Patriot League Player of the Year also had seven rebounds, but received little help. Jesse Chuku, who added 14 points, was the only other Mountain Hawk in double figures.

For Columbia, Maodo Lo filled up the stat sheet with 18 points, five steals and three rebounds.

Noteworthy numbers…
The Mountain Hawks were outrebounded by 12, and no Lehigh other than Kempton had more than four rebounds. …Outside of Kempton and Chuku, Lehigh’s three other starters combined for 19 points. …Point guard Kahron Ross had seven assists and just one turnover. The sophomore is averaging 5.8 assists per game this season.

Up next…
Lehigh (0-4) @ No. 6 Virginia (11/25, 7 p.m.)
Columbia (2-2) vs. Wofford (11/24, 7 p.m.)