Lehigh Basketball: Can the Mountain Hawks return to the top of the Patriot League in 2018-19?
The Patriot League could be wide open in 2018. Can the Lehigh Mountain Hawks ascend to the top?
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks haven’t made the NCAA tournament since 2012 when a diminutive guard by the name of CJ McCollum led the team to a 75-70 upset of No. 2 Duke. Head coach Brett Reed had a team that finished fourth in the Patriot League and was beaten in the quarterfinals.
The 16-14 record and 11-7 conference record, while good could’ve been much better as the Mountain Hawks lost three league games by four points or less and the team was on a seven-game winning streak before they fell to Boston University.
As was the case in 2012, Lehigh was one of the better three-point shooting teams in the country. They ranked 9th in three-point field goal percentage at 40.6% and 27th in three-pointers made per game with 9.8. The team also had two members that ranked in the top 23 nationally in three-point percentage, Andree 23rd at 42.9 and Tejada finished 10th at 45.3%.
This season they return three of their four double-digit scorers as well as every player who played in at least 10 games.
Senior guards Lance Tejada and Kyle Leufroy, as well as sophomore forward Pat Andree all return to lead Lehigh. Tejada, the team’s leading scorer with 14.7 points and shot 45% from beyond the arc and 76% from the free throw line, where the team ranked 12th nationally at 77.7%.
Leufroy is a 6-3 native of California who netted 10 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists, tops of anyone returning in 2018. Junior forward Andree averaged over 12 points, grabbed over five rebounds, was the team’s 2nd best three-point shooter and missed a total of eight free throws all season.
Reed also returns plenty of bench support, both in the frontcourt and backcourt. Jordan Cohen is a 6-1 junior guard who could become the team’s fourth double-digit scorer in 2018, he averaged 9.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a sophomore. The sophomore trio of Marques Wilson, Caleb Bennett, and James Karnik will all be looking to build of solid first seasons.
The 6-9 Karnik poured in seven points and snatched 6.5 rebounds while the duo of Wilson and Bennett added 10.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and two assists. Another key returner could be 6-7 junior forward Ed Porter who should return after playing in just 13 games last season. He averaged 3.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 16 minutes per game in 2017-18.
Two key newcomers are a 6-7 combo forward, Jeameril Wilson who gives the Mountain Hawks some frontcourt versatility and 6-10 center Nic Lynch out of Washington. At 255lbs. Lynch adds some much-needed physicality to the Lehigh frontcourt as an anchor in the middle.
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With the way last season ended, a disappointing defeat in the conference tournament but an eight-game winning streak prior and nearly all key members returning to them, Lehigh could be seen as a pre-season favorite in the Patriot League and this could be their best chance of returning to the Big Dance since the days of McCollum.