BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Boosted by 14 steals and a game-high 27 points from reigning Patriot League Player of the Week Eric Fanning, the Boston University men's basketball team rolled to a 76-59 win over preseason favorite Lehigh Monday night in front of a national television audience on the CBS Sports Network.

THE RUNDOWN

Final Score: Boston University 76, Lehigh 59
Records: BU (12-10, 7-3 PL), Lehigh (12-9, 6-4 PL)
Venue: Stabler Arena – Bethlehem, Pa.
BU Team Stats: 24-52 FG (.462), 9-23 3FG (.391), 19-25 FT (.760), 14 Stls.
Lehigh Team Stats: 21-49 FG (.429), 6-20 3FG (.300), 11-17 FT (.647), 5 Stls.
BU Leaders: Fanning (27p, 5 3FGs, 8r, 3s), Alston (11p, 4r), Foreman (9p, 7a), E. Johnson (5p, 5s, 3a, 3r)
Lehigh Leaders: Kempton (18p, 5r), Cohen (16p, 3 3FGs, 4r), Holba (9r, 3a)

TURNING POINT

• After BU allowed the first eight points, junior Eric Johnson came off the bench at 15:33 and immediately forced a turnover with one of his career-tying five steals to set up his fastbreak layup and ignite a 22-3 run capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from reigning PL Rookie of the Week Tyler Scanlon and senior Eric Fanning.
• The Mountain Hawks cut the deficit to five at 3:17 (25-20) in the first half and later at 18:53 (34-29) in the second before BU went on a 15-4 run to pull away for the victory.

GAME NOTES 

• Fanning hit a career-high five 3-pointers, including one at 6:55 in the second for BU's largest lead (65-42), and went 8-of-9 at the line to finish with 27 points after scoring 32 on Wednesday against Army.
• Johnson last had five steals in the 2016 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament win at Fordham.
• Sophomore Kyle Foreman nearly had a double-double with nine points and seven assists against just one turnover.
• Senior Justin Alston scored all 11 of his points in the second half
• The Terriers are the only team to hand Lehigh a double-digit loss this season, which they accomplished twice this year to claim their first-ever sweep over the Mountain Hawks.
• BU improved to 3-8 on the road, while Lehigh fell to 7-2 at home.
• Entering the matchup ranked 17th in field goal shooting percentage at 49.2 FG%, the Mountain Hawks went 21-of-49 (.429) and were held 19 points below their scoring average.
• Lehigh committed 20 turnovers for the second time this season after dropping an 84-81 decision at Xavier. 
• Two-time PL Player of the Year Tim Kempton (21.4 ppg, 10.4 rpg) was held to 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and a season-low five rebounds.

NEXT UP: NAVY

• BU will return to Case Gym for a two-game homestand starting with a key matchup against Navy on Thursday (Feb. 2) at 7 p.m.
• Both teams are currently tied-for-second in the PL standings at 7-3.
• The Midshipmen are on a seven-game win streak after BU triumphed at Navy (71-53) back on Jan. 5 with the help of 19 steals.