Courtesy: Princeton Athletic CommunicationsRob Keefer scored 11 of his 16 points in a 25-9 Lehigh spurt in the first 12 minutes of the game as the Mountain Hawks defeated Princeton, 68-49, in a men's basketball game played at Stabler Arena Sunday afternoon.
Princeton's bench players played much of the last 30 minutes of the game for the Tigers, but neither the Princeton starters nor reserves could stop Lehigh's scalding first-half shooting performance, particularly from Keefer and sophomore Zahir Carrington, who combined for 30 first-half points on 11 of 15 shooting.
Carrington also scored Lehigh's first eight points in the second half and led the Mountain Hawks with a game-high and career-high 27 points. The 6-7 Philadelphia native made 10 of his 15 shots from the field and went 7 for 7 from the line.
Keefer made his first five shots from the field off the bench, including a trio of three-point shots, and scored 11 points in a seven-minute span midway through the half, while Carrington took over inside and on the boards to score 16 first-half points and add five rebounds as Lehigh (7-7) quickly took a double-digit lead.
The Mountain Hawks also made their first eight free-throw attempts of the half, and Keefer's off-balance three-point shot from the wing at the halftime buzzer put his team ahead 41-19 at the break. Lehigh made 14 of its 24 first-half shots (58%) and finished 23 for 26 from the foul line for the game.
Meanwhile, the Tigers (2-11) made just one of their first nine shots from the field in falling behind 15-3 eight minutes into the game. Princeton did make five first-half three-point shots, including a pair from sophomore Nick Lake, but the Tigers shot just 7 for 21 (33%) from the field in the first half and committed 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
"I think that we have had too many times when we've had difficulty scoring, and that puts a little too much pressure on our defense even when we have a lot of good defensive possessions," said Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson.
"I watched quite a few of Princeton's games this season and I've been impressed with their ability and with the fact that they've played a very difficult schedule," said Lehigh coach Brett Reed. "I think we maybe just caught them on a day when we were determined to give a good effort and were energized after a couple of losses in a row."
Princeton did make nine three-point shots in the game but shot just 37% for the game overall. No Tiger player finished in double figures in scoring.
Lehigh's win was its first over Princeton since 1930 and ended a 23-game losing streak against the Tigers. The Mountain Hawks defeated Princeton in Bethlehem for the first time in program history.
Princeton's leading scorer, sophomore center Zach Finley, had no points in the first half and finished with six points. Sophomore NIck Lake had a career-best eight points for the Tigers off the bench, while freshman Kareem Maddox also scored a season-high eight points for Princeton, all in the game's final 10 minutes.
Princeton hosts Lafayette Wednesday night at Jadwin Gym in the first game of a four-game homestand. Game time is 7:35 p.m., and the game will be televised by both Patriot 8 in the Princeton area and RCN-4 in the Lehigh Valley.
