25 February, 2007
by Elliot Smilowitz
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Holy Cross (22-8, 13-1 Patriot) |
30 |
32 |
62 |
| Lehigh (12-18, 7-7 Patriot) |
32 |
18 |
49 |
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The final game of the Patriot League’s regular season went the same way as a lot of other 2006-2007 games: A big second half and solid free throw shooting gave Holy Cross a win, this time 62-50 over Lehigh. Torey Thomas scored 21 points for the Crusaders, who used an 18-0 second-half run to turn the game around.
Thomas also had 6 rebounds and 5 assists. He was joined in double figures by Keith Simmons and Alex Vander Baan with 14 points each, and Tim Clifford pitched in 9 points and 5 blocks. Lehigh’s Jose Olivero, playing on his Senior Day, paced the Mountain Hawks with 13 points; Phil Anderson and Zahir Carrington added 12 and 11 points off the bench.
Lehigh took an early 17-11 lead, but Holy Cross chipped away, making it a 2-point game at halftime. In the second half, though, Lehigh went scoreless for over 12 minutes, as the Crusaders turned a 6-point deficit into a 12-point lead. Holy Cross shot 10-of-11 from the line in the second half to ice the game.
The win clinches home-court advantage throughout the Patriot League Tournament for Holy Cross. Lehigh’s loss drops them into a tie with American for third place, but the Hawks win the tiebreaker by virtue of sweeping the season series with the Eagles. Army will head to Stabler Arena Wednesday while Holy Cross hosts Lafayette in first round action.
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
Lehigh extended their lead to 36-30 with a pair of baskets right out of halftime. But in a blink of an eye, the game turned, and Holy Cross made an 18-0 run to take command of the game. Lehigh failed to score for a span of 12:49. Simmons scored 8 of the Crusaders’ 18 points in the run.
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| Key sign it was over |
When Lehigh finally scored, on a Jason Mgebroff basket, it brought them within 48-38, but Holy Cross kept up their offensive production and the Hawks never again got close.
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| Key performance |
Simmons was not able to exert his will offensively as he usually does, due to Kyle Neptune’s hounding defense, but Simmons adjusted his game to make a huge impact in other ways. Simmons scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor, grabbed 10 rebounds (including 4 offensive), tossed 2 assists and nabbed 4 steals.
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| Key statistic |
Holy Cross shot 20-of-23 from the line, including 10-of-11 in the second half. Just as it has all season, their ability to get to the line and knock down free throws kept the Crusaders ahead.
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| Notes |
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Olivero moved into fifth on Lehigh’s all-time points scored list. His career total rests at 1,751 points.
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Holy Cross outrebounded Lehigh 39-28, and outscored the Hawks 16-11 on second-chance points.
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Lehigh used a Senior Day lineup of Olivero, Neptune, Mgebroff and Adam Hyncik, with Bryan White the only non-senior in the starting lineup.
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Holy Cross got 58 points from its top four scorers, and only 4 points from the rest of the team.
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