Lehigh Tops Men’s Basketball on Senior Day

Saturday, February 27

West Point, NY

12 PM

Army West Point

18-12, 9-9PL

Lehigh

15-14, 13-5PL

Lehigh

Army West Point

Lehigh Tops Men’s Basketball on Senior Day

February 27, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – A hot-shooting effort by Lehigh gave the visiting Mountain Hawks their ninth consecutive victory and snapped Army's five-game winning streak in an 82-72 decision on Saturday afternoon at Christl Arena.

The Black Knights finish the regular season with an 18-12 overall record, including a 9-9 Patriot League mark, while Lehigh improved to 15-14 overall and 13-5 in the conference.

Army will host No. 5 Colgate as the fourth seed in the Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday, March 3.

Led by a 23-point and 18-rebound performance by Tim Kempton, Lehigh connected on 50.8 percent from the field (33-of-65) and had four players score in double figures. Kahron Ross scored 19 points and handed out seven assists, while Austin Price scored 16 points and Kyle Leufroy added 11.

Senior point guard Dylan Cox scored a team-high 16 points and eclipsed 1,000 points for his career and Kevin Ferguson and Tanner Plomb each put in 14 points for the Black Knights. Army shot the ball at a 47.6 percent clip (30-for-63), but was outrebounded 38-36 and had five more turnovers than Lehigh.

"Both teams were hot coming into today's game," head coach Zach Spiker said. "The difference was, Lehigh was hotter. We shot 47 percent, but we didn't shoot well from three (5-for-19) and we did not take care of the basketball. I'm disappointed that we didn't play our best game, but there is another start to the season right around the corner and we need to stay motivated."

Lehigh secured an early 18-10 lead with 10 straight points, on threes by Ross and Chuku sandwiched around consecutive Kempton buckets. A three-point play by Luke Morrison briefly interrupted Lehigh's 18-5 run over 4:30 that saw the Mountain Hawks go 8-for-10 from the field. Army had four turnovers during the stretch and Lehigh was ahead 26-15.

Army closed the gap to five after consecutive baskets by Plomb and Cox. Plomb muscled his way inside on a right-handed drive, before Ferguson fed Cox for a reverse layup to make it 34-29 with five minutes left in the period.

Lehigh took a 39-35 lead into the locker room as Plomb's two-handed flush ended the half.

The Mountain Hawks pushed their lead to 52-42 on consecutive jumpers by Price, before his steal and slam made it a 12-point game with 14:10 remaining. Army called timeout following the breakaway dunk. Out of the timeout, a missed three by Wilson led to a Kempton layup that increased Lehigh's lead to 14.

Moments later Ross drained a straightaway three with the shot clock expiring to cap a 13-2 run and put the visitors up by 17.

Trailing 63-46, Army scored the next seven points and Ferguson's layup forced Lehigh to call a timeout. The Black Knights got another stop before Cox's floater in the paint went down to pull the Black Knights within eight (63-55) with 9:44 remaining.

Lehigh's answer came in the form of a right-handed drive and layup by Kempton through contact. He missed the bonus free throw, but the visitors regained a 10-point lead. The next Lehigh possession ended with a corner three by Price (68-55), before Ferguson countered with a bucket at the eight-minute mark.

Lehigh extended the lead back to 15 points on a Kempton baseline jumper and a scoop layup by Ross a minute later and the Black Knights never got any closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Game Notes: Dylan Cox became the 32nd player in Academy history to score 1,000 career points … Cox joined Kyle Wilson, Tanner Plomb and Kevin Ferguson in the 1,000-point club as the group became the first four classmates in Patriot League history to all score at least 1,000 career points … Plomb now has 1,305 career points, good for 14th in Academy history, and passed Bill Shutsky '68 and Stu Sherard '62 … Ferguson blocked four shots … Seniors Maxwell Lenox and Travis Rollo joined Larry Toomey, Plomb and Wilson in the starting lineup … Army's Class of 2016 was honored in a pregame ceremony … Army and Lehigh split the season series.