Men's Basketball Completes Sweep with 80-74 Win at Lehigh

Saturday, February 5

Bethlehem, PA

2:15 PM

Boston University

16-9,7-5Patriot

Lehigh

9-15,7-5Patriot

Boston U.

Lehigh

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

Men's Basketball Completes Sweep with 80-74 Win at Lehigh

February 5, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Coach Jones Postgame Highlights

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Highlighted by 11 3-pointers and season-low five turnovers, the Boston University men's basketball team claimed its first sweep in Patriot League play with an 80-74 win at Lehigh on Saturday afternoon.

Winner of five their last six games, the Terriers (16-9, 7-5 PL) overcame a smaller field goal shooting percentage (54.3-48.3) against the Mountain Hawks (9-15, 7-5 PL) by outscoring Lehigh off turnovers, 14-0, in made 3-pointers, 11-7, and in second chance opportunities, 11-8. BU's bench also stepped up with a 25-8 advantage in offensive production.

Graduate student Sukhmail Mathon collected his 13th double-double of the season with 16 points and game-high 10 rebounds, while senior Walter Whyte also had 16 points. Graduate student Javante McCoy tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Sophomores Daman Tate (13 pts.) and Caelan Jones (9 pts.) came off the bench with a combined five 3-pointers.

Coming off Wednesday's thrilling 63-62 home win over Navy in which they finished the game on a 20-2 run in the final five minutes, the Mountain Hawks were prevented from mounting a second comeback, as BU shot 51.9 percent in the second half. Evan Taylor (26 pts.) and Nic Lynch (24 pts.) combined for 50 points and 14 rebounds, while Jeameril Wilson posted 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Four different Mountain Hawks scored early with Wilson hitting a driving layup for the 8-2 lead at 17:44.
Highlighted by senior Jonas Harper's 3-pointer, four Terriers scored during a 9-2 spurt capped by senior Fletcher Tynen's floater at 14:56.
Lehigh responded with 10 straight points to grab its largest lead of the game, 20-11, after Marques Wilson fed Lynch for a layup at 10:42.
Jones kept Lehigh close with a conventional 3-pointer and layup plus bonus free throw to cut the deficit to 22-19 at 8:24.
Tate came off the bench to provide the offensive spark with 10 points, as he tied the game at 3:55 (29-29) on his second 3-pointer and then at 1:18 on a driving layup to send the teams to the locker room in a 35-35 deadlock.
McCoy and Whyte scored from behind the arc on consecutive possessions to give BU the lead for good, 42-39, with 17:40 remaining.
Tate followed Mathon's jumper and bonus free throw with his third trey to give BU its largest lead, 53-44, four minutes later.
Lehigh chipped away and eventually cut the deficit to 61-60 at 6:08 on Taylor's 3-point play, but Jones converted on McCoy's offensive rebound with a bomb in the corner.
Owning a 66-64 lead, McCoy fed Whyte for a 3-pointer and then hit a contested jumper to grab a 71-64 lead.
Mathon netted six of BU's nine points during the final two minutes to seal the win.

GAME NOTES

Mathon moved up to No. 5 all-time at BU with 774 career rebounds and is now just 74 points away from becoming the 41st Terrier to reach 1,000.
Owner of 1,730 career points, McCoy moved up to No. 4 all-time in made field goals at 649 total, while Whyte now sits at No. 28 all-time with 1,127 career points.
Tate was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field to top his previous season high of 12 points by one.
The Terriers' nine steals matched a season-high set earlier at Navy and vs. Gordon College.
BU improved to 12-8 all-time against Lehigh, collecting a third straight win for the second time in the series.

UP NEXT

BU will next open a two-game homestand on Wednesday (Feb. 9) against Army West Point with a 7 p.m. tip.
The Black Knights won the first meeting, 73-63, at Christl Arena back in January.