Brett Eppehimer must have eaten plenty of spinach along with his Thanksgiving turkey. LEHIGH 89 HARVARD 87
Double-doubles for the second consecutive game from senior point guard Tim Hill and captain Paul Fisher were not enough as the Lehigh shot 55.8 percent from the field to hand the Harvard men's basketball team (2-1) its first loss of the season, 89-87, Saturday night at Lavietes Pavilion.
Mountain Hawks swingman Eppeheimer scored a game-high 30 points on 10-of-21 shooting while guard Jared Hess added 17, including 3-of-4 from three-point range and Lehigh (3-2) beat Harvard 38-30 on the glass without top rebounder Fido Willybiro, who sat with a knee injury.
"We came up short on several defensive counts," said Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan. "One, Lehigh got 40 percent of the offensive rebounds, and that's too many; two, their other shooters had good nights, and we didn't compensate for Eppehimer by shutting them down and three, we couldn't guard without fouling."
For the Crimson, Fisher continued to have his way with undersized post defenders as he hit 8-of-11 shots for 21 points and added 13 rebounds. Hill posted a career high in assists for the second straight game, dishing 13 times against only two turnovers while contributing 20 points, but shot only 7-of-20.
It was Eppehimer, who averaged 24 points per game coming in, who made the critical difference in his matchup with junior guard Damian Long.
"I watched a lot of film, and I thought I was prepared," Long said. "I guess I wasn't as prepared as I thought. I give him credit, he's a tough kid, but I played pretty crappy. I didn't do my job."
Eppehimer also got excellent supporting roles from Hess and center Peter DeLea, who scored 15 points, mostly from the post, and pulled down 12 boards.
Tied 67-67 with 7:50 remaining, Lehigh put together a 12-6 run that opened up a decisive edge. Eppehimer started with a driving lay-up, then forward Bobby Mbom got the better of a pair of disputed calls that helped create a three-point play.
Off a Hill miss, Mbom boxed out Fisher with a hard elbow to pull down the defensive rebound, then he started a transition run the other way. Mbom finished with a baby hook from the low post and drew a foul, Fisher's fourth, and hit his free throw.
After sophomore forward Dan Clemente made a pair of foul shots, Eppehimer drove for another lay-up, Mbon made both ends of a one-and- "I think Harvard got tired in the second half,"said Lehigh Coach Sal Mentesena. "I think theywere fatigued because they're not so deep,especially inside, whereas we were able to keepguys fresh. They were also in a lot of foultrouble." Harvard battled, coming as close as 81-79 with2:34 remaining, but fanned on a series of closeplays down the stretch that made the finaldifference. After Eppehimer missed the front end of aone-and-one, Hess appeared to grab the offensiverebound but turned it over briefly to Hill on thebaseline before the loose ball squirted out intothe key. Senior guard Mike Beam had his hands onit, as did Clemente, but the ball somehow kickedback to the low post where Lehigh forward DanHanderhan scooped it up and banked in anuncontested two. "Everybody thought they had that loose ball,"Hill said. "At least four guys on our team touchedthat ball and it just ended up in Handerhan'shands for a lay-up." Trailing 81-79, Hill had a pair of chances totie the score, the first in transition off aLehigh turnover off an inbounds pass. Hill droveinto the lane and missed, then Fisher pulled downthe offensive rebound. Hill tried again, this timeon an open eight-foot jumper from the right side,but missed and Harvard fouled on the defensiverebound. Mountain Hawks guard Tiwaun Hawkins made one ofhis free throws in the double-bonus situation foran 82-79 lead. Then the Crimson had another chanceat a tie when Clemente attempted a spot-upthree-pointer from the left corner. He missedlong, however, and Hess corralled the rebound anddrew Beam's foul. Hess's free throws opened up an84-79 advantage. Clemente played 27 minutes and scored 16points, but shot only 2-of-7 from beyond the arc. The Crimson had one final opportunity tocontest the lead trailing 84-81 with 1:01 left.Playing ball-control to run down the shot clock,Eppehimer controlled and shook Long off a pick,driving to the hole for an uncontested basket butmissing off the back of the rim. Handerhan tipped the rebound and Hill scrambledfor it, getting a touch before the ball fell outof bounds on the baseline. Again, a toss-up callwent Lehigh's way as the zebras ruled Hill sent itout with 28.9 seconds to play. The Mountain Hawksmade 5-of-6 from the line thereafter to seal thewin. "These two teams know each other so well thatit took big plays to make the difference,"Mentesena said. "It's no mystery, we do a lot ofthe same things, and it seems thatphilosophically, the kids understand each other." Harvard trailed 43-33 at the half but strungtogether an 18-7 run keyed by Fisher's eightpoints in the paint on 4-of-4 shooting during thefirst six minutes of the second half. Hill capped the run when he took Clemente'sgive-and-go dish on the right side of the key anddrove for a layup, then hit a free throw tocomplete a three-point play. The sequence gaveHarvard its last lead of the evening at 53-50 with14:06 remaining. The Crimson also contained Eppehimer, who didnot score until 14:41 remained. "In the second half we were playing him black,which means we tried to keep him from touching theball," Long said. "Since once he got the ball, hewas just sick. I was denying him up and down thefloor and it worked. When he didn't have the ballwe were all right." Harvard travels to Marist tomorrow for anothernon-league date. This loss puts everything in perspective,"Sullivan said. "We need a better understanding ofthe defensive end. Lehigh is not a Big East team.They're a team that's at our level. I want tobelieve we're somewhere in between the team thatbeat Boston College and the team that lost [onSaturday]."
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