Sports

Lehigh defeated by Xavier

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Sequels are just never quite as good.

Two nights after knocking off second-seeded Duke in one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history, Lehigh blew a 15-point first half lead and fell short in its attempt to become the first 15th-seed to reach the Sweet 16, losing 70-58 to 10th-seeded Xavier last night at Greensboro Coliseum.

The Musketeers advance to the second week for the fourth time in five years and will play third-seeded Baylor in Atlanta on Friday.

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“It has been really exciting ups and downs, going from beating Duke and barely getting any sleep and then being obviously very disappointed in the way we performed,” Lehigh junior forward Gabe Knutson said. “Having a chance at the Sweet 16, being that close, that’s a lot of motivation to work that much harder to get there [next year].”

Lehigh led the entire first half, sparked by Mackey McKnight’s season-high 20 points, but the team hit an unfathomable cold spell in the second half, as it shot 5-of-34 (14.7 percent) from the field and missed 14 of 15 3-pointers.

Although junior guard C.J. McCollum was the biggest reason why the Mountain Hawks made it past the Blue Devils, the fifth-leading scorer in the nation struggled as he tried to will another upset, with 14 points on 5-of-22 shooting.

“I’m not one to make excuses, I just wasn’t making shots,” McCollum said. “Offense is going to come and go. We still have to get stops on defense, and we didn’t do that.”

Lehigh led 31-16 with less than five minutes remaining in the first half, but Xavier closed the gap after McCollum picked up his second foul, trailing just 37-33 at halftime after Long Island native Tu Holloway’s 3-pointer in the final seconds.

The Musketeers (23-12) took the lead less than one minute into the second half after Kenny Frease scored five straight points, and never trailed again. Lehigh had no answer for Frease, the senior center who finished with 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting with 12 rebounds and two blocks. Holloway added 21 points.

“That was probably [Frease’s] best game in a Xavier uniform,” Xavier coach Chris Mack said. “He had it at the right time.”

After trailing 47-40, Lehigh (27-8) stormed back, with most of the arena cheering on the small school from eastern Pennsylvania, including their newfound contingent of North Carolina fans, still giddy over Lehigh’s historic dispatching of Duke. McCollum tied the game at 52 with 8:12 remaining, but Lehigh then went more than seven minutes without a point as Xavier pulled away.

Lehigh left dejected, so badly wanting the win. But the Mountain Hawks couldn’t ask for much more from an unforgettable weekend.

“It’s a dream come true to be here,” McKnight said. “We just enjoyed every single moment of it.”