The men’s basketball team suffered a 78-69 home court defeat in the 250th rendition of its rivalry game with Lehigh University on Saturday, but recovered with an 86-83 road comeback victory over Holy Cross on Tuesday.
“We have a Lehigh board in our locker room, and so ‘beat Lehigh’ is our motto,” said freshman forward Luke Bevilacqua about the team’s mindset heading into Saturday’s clash.
The Leopards (6-9 Patriot League, 9-19 overall) jumped to an early 7-3 advantage with the help of a 3-pointer from junior guard Andrew Phillips. The Mountain Hawks (8-7 Patriot League, 12-16 overall) were not flying far behind, though, as they bounced back with a 12-6 run to take the lead with just under 11 minutes left in the half.
Each team alternated runs for the remainder of the half. The Maroon and White managed the first one, scoring 10 unanswered points to retake a 23-15 lead. Lehigh answered with a 12-0 run of their own, followed by an eight-point rally from the home team to land the Leopards a 31-27 advantage. Both teams scored six points apiece over the last three minutes of the half.
Coming out of the locker room, it was again the home team who took charge, outscoring Lehigh 9-6 in the first five minutes. The visitors’ 9-2 run following this initial spurt tied the game up at 48-48 with just under 12 minutes remaining. Back-to-back threes from the Mountain Hawks gave the team their first lead since the first half.
“Not letting up those three to four minute stretches again, where we don’t score, where we have to get stops on defense,” said Phillips about the Leopards’ offensive struggles.
The Mountain Hawks continued to sink shots, but sophomore guard Caleb Williams led the Leopard charge with 10 points to bring the deficit to 67-63. This was the closest the Leopards would find themselves in the final minutes, as Lehigh commanded the floor with a 9-2 spurt that sealed the victory.
Williams led the Maroon and White in scoring, dropping 26 points along with six assists. Phillips followed behind, scoring 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
“The coaches wanted to leave me out there and do everything I can to try to get a win,” Phillips said.
The Leopards overcame a 19-point second-half deficit against Holy Cross (4-11 Patriot League, 9-19 overall) to get back in the win column on Wednesday.
“Rebound the ball and just fly it in transition, try and score a lot of points,” Phillips said about the Maroon and White’s game plan.
Holy Cross found its rhythm first, holding a 16-7 lead five minutes in. Senior guard Ryan Petitt drained two 3-pointers in two minutes to bring the visitors within four, but the hosts continued to outpace the Leopards, going on a 12-4 run on the way to a 32-20 lead. The Leopards were outscored 17-13 in the final seven minutes of play, facing them with a 49-33 deficit going into the locker room.
Freshman forward Shareef Jackson and junior guard Mark Butler each cashed in during the first two minutes of the half, but the Crusaders responded with seven points over the next minute to mount a 58-39 lead, the Leopards’ largest deficit of the game. Phillips and Pettit both combined for six points before freshman forward Christian Humphrey-Rembert hit a three to claw back within 10.
Pettit and Williams contributed five apiece to a 12-5 Leopard run, capped off with a Humphrey-Rembert jumper to pull the gap to 65-62. Over the next five minutes, both teams battled for every point, but Williams tied the score at 77 apiece with a four-point play after being fouled on a step-back 3-pointer.
Jackson gave the Leopards their first lead of the game with an and-one layup with just over two minutes to play, and Phillips extended the lead to 84-80 with a pair from the charity stripe. The Crusaders attempted the foul game and found an opportunity to send it to overtime, but their 3-point attempt missed the net to complete the come-from-behind victory.
Bevilacqua said that the win gave the team a “confidence boost.”
“Obviously, we want to bounce back from our loss to Lehigh, and I think that’s what it is, just to get a road win,” he said.
The Leopards will host American University (8-7 Patriot League, 15-13 overall) on Sunday as they kick off the final three games of the regular season.