With March Madness on the line, the Terriers fall to the Mountain Hawks in a go-big-or-go-home matchup, 74-60.
By Jane Guay
After not winning the Patriot League Championship since 2020 and not dancing into the March Madness Tournament since 2020, the Terriers let history repeat itself after falling to the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with a final score of 60-74 on Wednesday night.
Since opening tip-off at 7 p.m., the Mountain Hawks declared dominance early and never looked back. An early 5-0 leadmade by Lehigh’s sophomore forward Edouard Benoit’s first 3-point shot of the night was only subtle foreshadowing into what the rest of the night had in store.
Simply put, the Terriers’ lack of defensive strategy didn’t allow them to correctly cover the Mountain Hawks, making it easy for them to get open throughout the entire night—especially from behind the arc.
Sophomore forward Ben Defty and junior guard Michael McNair were able to keep the Terriers’ dancing dreams alive early on in the first half, combining for 12 points in just under nine minutes to start off—making them the only ones to score on behalf of the entire team at that point.
“Both of [Defty and McNair] really exceeded everyone’s expectations of what they became so fast,” Coach Joe Jones said in a post-game press conference.
There have been plenty of games leading up to the Patriot League Championship where wins came from a collective effort, but with Lehigh being able to lock down on specific players’ individual skills, there was less and less of an opportunity for the Terriers to showcase what got them to Lehigh in the first place.
While the Terriers were still able to make it close during the first half, it was with every foul they were pausing any rhythm they were in the process of developing. After McNair and freshman guard Donte Tisinger Jr. scored back-to-backfrom the paint to cut the lead to one with eight and a half minutes to go in the first half came a whistle that would eventually widen that lead. Sophomore big Hank Alvey scored two free throws, contributing to the Mountain Hawks’ 17-24 throughout the entire night. This, along with the Terriers’ 19-23 from the line, kept the clock from running, ultimately lasting the matchup well over two hours long.
With the lead slowly getting away from the Terriers, McNair was able to hit his first from beyond the arc to cut to a 28-32lead with under four and a half minutes remaining in the first. While the Terriers’ defense was easily allowing Mountain Hawk 3-point shots, they were also unable to hit their own.
“We had a hard time finishing over, and we just didn’t get it moving again,” Coach Jones said.
McNair’s 3-point shot was the only one made by the Terriers for the entire night, contributing to their 1-16 after the two halves. Scoring from inside the paint was not going to be what saved the Terriers, but with the Mountain Hawks having the high basketball IQ that allowed them to scout and respond to any offensive plan the Terriers had, it was the best shot the Terriers could take.
Coming out of halftime with a score of 41-32 Lehigh, this was quite frankly the opposite of what the Terriers had seen from the several games leading up to this. Whether it be maintaining steady leads or keeping the game competitive, trailing by double-digits isn’t something the Terriers had faced in a long time—and they did not adjust accordingly.
Cutting the lead to eight thanks to Defty’s 16th point of the night was not going to be the key strategy for the Terriers. With the Mountain Hawks continuing to hit from three and with it already being the second half, it was too late to go slow and steady on the inside.
The Terriers’ lack of defense is also what created so many second-chance opportunities for the Mountain Hawks, just like what the crowd saw from what was a 3-point miss from Lehigh’s junior guard Joshua Ingram becoming an easy layup for Alvey off of an offensive rebound. This was one of the 14 offensive boards the Mountain Hawks were able to put up compared to the Terriers’ 10, and in times of a lead continuing to get away, those second-chance opportunities are essential.
“Lehigh—you got to give them credit. They were terrific tonight,” Coach Jones said.
As the clock continued winding down throughout the second half, missed shot after missed shot was coming from the Terriers once they realized they needed to get out of the paint—it was the only way they were going to be able to come back. Freshman and sophomore guards Chance Gladden and Azmar Abdullah went back-to-back for missing 3-point shots, something unheard of from these two standouts this season. Boston University currently stands at No. 5 for 3P% across D1 in the entire country, and Wednesday night was not the performance that got them there.
Thanks to Ingram and Alvey, the Mountain Hawks had no trouble continuing to extend the lead with less than ten minutes remaining in the matchup. It was their efforts that led to the Terriers eventually turning to throwing up anything but the kitchen sink for a potential to lessen the lead.
Despite being on spring break, Lehigh fans showed up and out in the stands to cheer on the Mountain Hawks as they continued to serve no mercy in the final minutes, with Ingram’s step-back jumper leading to a 21-point lead with less than four minutes to go.
In past games, three and a half minutes was seen as a lot of time for anything to happen between the Terriers and their opponents, but for this matchup, the only thing left to turn to was foul play. Gladden was able to secure two more shots from inside the paint to finish off his freshman season, but that surely was not going to bring the team back.
The Terriers finished their post-season with a look-alike to February, where their only loss of the month came from the Mountain Hawks. Although this time, it was go big or go home, and the Terriers were officially walking away from the dance floor.