Gamecenter: Lehigh 56, American 54
3 February, 2007| 1st | 2nd | Final |
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| Lehigh (10-14, 5-3 Patriot) | 24 | 32 | 56 |
| American (11-12, 3-6 Patriot) | 22 | 32 | 54 |
| Bender Arena – Washington, DC | Boxscore |
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| Postgame audio Lehigh: Billy Taylor | Jose Olivero American: Jeff Jones | Derrick Mercer |
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For the second time this season, Lehigh downed American in the final seconds. This time, the final score was 56-54, and Jose Olivero hit two free throws with 4 seconds left to win it.
The game was slow from the start, with the teams combining for 46 points in the first half. Lehigh shot just 26.9 percent from the floor in the first half, while American shot a respectable 42.9 percent but turned the ball over 12 times. Seven different Eagles turned the ball over at least once in the half. Marquis Hall and Arvydas Eitutavicius scored 9 apiece to lead their teams in the first stanza. American came out of halftime and went on an 8-2 run, led by 4 points from Derrick Mercer, all in transition lay-ups. The run gave the Eagles their first substantial lead at 30-26 and put momentum on American’s side. American controlled much of the second half, before Lehigh reclaimed the lead late. The Mountain Hawks opened up a 49-44 lead, but American cut back close and tied it in the final minute. Olivero got whistled for his fourth foul with 10;43 to go in the second half, and stayed on the bench for the next 6 minutes. During that span, Lehigh outscored American 17-7. Olivero had 14 total points, and Hall chipped in 13, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Derrick Mercer led American with 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Arvydas Eitutavicius added 13 points off the bench. Andre Ingram totaled only 8 points on 3-of-9 shooting. |
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| Keys to the Game | |
| Key sequence | With 6:26 to go, Matt Szalachowski and Hall hit back-to-back threes for Lehigh, to bring them from down 44-41 to up 47-44. After trailing for much of the second half, Lehigh led the rest of the way. |
| Key sign it was over |
With 39 seconds left, Mercer hit a lay-up to bring American within 54-52. Lehigh turned the ball over when an inbounds pass went off Jose Olivero with 24 seconds left. Eitutavicius hit a runner with 15 seconds left to tie the game at 54 apiece. Holding to the final shot, Olivero was fouled on a drive with 4 seconds left. He hit both free throws. On American’s last chance, Eitutavicius lost the ball and couldn’t recover in time to get a shot off before the buzzer. |
| Key performance | Olivero had a game-high 14 points despite shooting just 3-of-10, including 0-of-3 from the arc. He added 5 rebounds. |
| Key statistic | Lehigh turned the ball over just 9 times, allowing them to win despite shooting 34.9 percent from the floor. |
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| Notes | |
| – | American controlled the boards, outrebounding Lehigh 32-23. |
| – | American had 12 turnovers in the first half, and just 4 in the second half. |
| – | Lehigh got 23 points from the free throw line, in 29 attempts. In contrast, the Eagles were just 5-for-10 from the line on the game. |
| – | American hosts Bucknell Tuesday night. Lehigh hosts Navy on Wednesday. |
