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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Trailing by 22 at the half, the Boston University men's basketball team staged a furious comeback but ultimately came up short missing a game-tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer in an 89-86 loss at Lehigh on Saturday afternoon.

Finishing five points shy of the school record with 63 in the final 20 minutes, the Terriers drop to 8-13 and 4-6 in the Patriot League, while the Mountain Hawks improve to 11-10 (5-5 PL). The defeat marks BU's fourth of the conference schedule by five points or less.

Junior Eric Fanning led the BU rally with 18 of his team-high 24 points in the second half and was one of five Terriers to reach double figures. Freshman Cheddi Mosely matched Fanning in made field goals at eight to reach the 20-point mark a second time this season, while junior Nathan Dieudonne had 17 points. Sophomore Cedric Hankerson added 11 points, and junior Justin Alston fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points.

The Mountain Hawks did most of their damage in the first half, shooting 64.3 percent from the field before finishing 29-of-53 (.547), including 8-of-14 (.571) from behind the arc. Reigning PL Rookie of the Year and 6-foot-10 forward Tim Kempton posted a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds, while Kahron Ross had 18 points and 10 assists for the double-double. Austin Price and Jesse Chuku were the other two in double figures at 16 and 12 points, respectively.

Looking to avoid the sweep following an earlier 75-56 loss at BU, Lehigh's defense held BU to 35 percent shooting in the first half and just two 3-pointers on 12 attempts. Leading 16-11 after nine minutes of action, the Mountain Hawks went on a 14-2 run and later hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to enter the locker room ahead, 45-23.

Down but not out, Hankerson and Mosely opened the second stanza with back-to-back 3-pointers. Dieudonne and Alston followed with layups to put the deficit at 45-33 with 17:34 remaining. After the teams exchanged baskets, Price stopped the rally with a 3-pointer and later put Lehigh up, 64-44, with 11:03 remaining in regulation.

The Terriers remained resolute and cut the deficit to 13 (72-59) at 5:50 on Mosely's 3-pointer. He later followed Fanning's pair of free throws and layup with a short jumper at 4:00 to pull BU within nine (74-65).

On the ensuing possession, Ross hit a 3-pointer. Corey Schaefer seemed to hit the backbreaker with another trey at 2:06 for the 80-67 advantage, but BU's pressure in the front court proved to be too much for Lehigh to handle.

The Terriers pulled within 10 and forced Lehigh to call a timeout despite not having anymore left. Junior John Papale hit both free throws from the technical, and seconds later, Mosely hit a layup following his own steal.

BU again forced another turnover, but the Terriers missed a 3-point attempt from the corner with 66 seconds remaining and an 81-75 deficit. For the next 30 seconds, BU answered each of Ross' pair of made free throws with a quick layup and forced one more turnover on a 10-second violation against Lehigh to pull within four at the 39 and 30-second marks, respectively.

Hankerson hit BU's seventh and final 3-pointer at 19 seconds to put the deficit at 87-84. After Ross hit two more free throws, Fanning drew a foul while attempting a 3-pointer. He hit two at the line to keep the deficit at three (89-86).

The final missed attempt proved helpful as it got the ball away from the point guard Ross and into the hands of Brandon Alston, who was quickly fouled with the rebound. He missed both of his free throw attempts, but BU was unable to find the equalizer, as the Mountain Hawks forced Papale into a tough turnaround 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

The Terriers outscored Lehigh in the paint (40-30), in the fastbreak (21-4), and off turnovers (10-6). However, the Mountain Hawks had six more made free throws (23-17), one-more second-chance point (10-9) and a 33-26 advantage in rebounds.

After splitting the two regular season meetings with Lehigh for the second consecutive year, BU will next look to claim a sweep on Wednesday (Feb. 4) when the Terriers host Navy at Agganis Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.