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Mountain Hawks complete weekend sweep up in Worcester - Lehigh University Athletics - Lehigh University Athletics

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WORCESTER, Mass. – Behind a career-best game from Evan Taylor, Marques Wilson's second-half performance, Jalin Sinclair's season-high nine assists and four double-digit scorers, the Lehigh men's basketball team (3-5, 1-3 Central) completed the weekend sweep against the Holy Cross Crusaders.
 
"I was really pleased with the effort from our team today," said head coach Brett Reed. "Everyone contributed today. We felt really good, our bench was energized, and I know our guys were confident. On offense, I loved the looks we were getting. The ball was moving around, our guys were getting good, open looks. We had some very unselfish plays today."
 
For the second straight game, the Brown and White used a barrage of 3-pointers to gain an early lead against the Crusaders. Back-to-back threes from Ben Li and Jake Betlow had Lehigh looking good. Halfway through the first half, Holy Cross went on a 19-8 run to even things out between the two teams. After the Crusaders gained a 4-point lead at 31-27, Lehigh went on its own 8-0 run after consecutive Evan Taylor jumpers. Holy Cross' Austin Butler converted a three-point play in the closing seconds to give the home team a 36-35 lead at the half.  
"We hurt ourselves a little in the first half with turning the ball over," said Reed. "A lot of their scoring bursts came because our turnovers allowed them to get out in transition. We got a little sped up because of their defensive pressure. Fortunately, we were able to make the adjustment at halftime. We cut our turnovers down and we found some great ways to compliment an aggressive, attacking style of offense with some activity on defense."
 
After only scoring four points in the first half, Marques Wilson erupted in the second half, as the junior put the team on his back. Whether it was forcing turnovers, converting three-point plays, knocking down shots or debating his man off the dribble, Wilson scored 16 points in the final 20 minutes. The senior finished with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists.
 
"Marques was fantastic! Honestly, a big contributing factor was the play of some of our other guards because he (Marques) wasn't always having to start with the ball up top."
  Coach Reed was right because other guards stepped up today for the Brown and White. Freshman Jalin Sinclair had a season-high nine assists, while Evan Taylor had his first-career double-double. The sophomore finished the game 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
 
"Evan played extremely well for us today," Reed said. "He was great on the defensive glass for us. Many of them came out of the zone areas in which we had to use our athleticism to go and get the basketball. Evan has the length, aggressiveness and ability to do it."
   
"Jalin showed tremendous maturity today. To have a guy who can see plays develop ahead of time is really valuable for us. He has the ability to set people up. It's really impressive to do that as a freshman."
 
After both teams exchanged baskets the early portion of the second half, Reed Fenton and Jeameril's baskets on consecutive trips gave Lehigh a 50-49 lead with 12:17 remaining. The Mountain Hawks never looked back, as Lehigh never lost the lead again. The Brown and White's 42 points in the paint played a key part in that. Another key part was the fact that Holy Cross was sending Lehigh to the foul line with 12 minutes to go in the game, as the Crusaders had trouble defending without fouling. Lehigh's ability to make free throws from the charity stripe late in the game ultimately propelled them to victory. Also, all nine players who played for Lehigh scored today. 

With the two wins this weekend, Lehigh has gained momentum and will look to use this weekend's sweep as a launching pad for their final eight games.

"We need to continue to defend the 3-point line, we need to continue to defend without fouling, we need to continue to rebound the basketball. Over the course of this weekend, we were continuing to put the building blocks in place. If we can do those things effectively, we give ourselves to be a much, much better team." ended Reed.

Lehigh's next scheduled game was supposed to be next weekend against Bucknell, however those games have been postponed. The Mountain Hawks will be ready to play next weekend if a conference opponent is free.

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Mountain Hawks complete weekend sweep up in Worcester - Lehigh University Athletics - Lehigh University Athletics
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