For the Mountain Hawks to dethrone No. 12 ranked University of Virginia on the road, they needed to execute offensively. The Cavaliers, who were the country’s best defensive team last season, had other plans.
After a being on the wrong end of an 80-54 contest Wednesday night, Lehigh (0-5) remained winless on the season.
The Hawks had 17 turnovers in the nationally broadcasted contest and took away few positives from the one-sided loss. Of them, however, was freshman guard Kyle Leufroy’s play.
Leufroy tallied 14 points on 4-of-5 3-point shooting to go along with six rebounds. Junior center Tim Kempton notched 14 points and five rebounds despite being subjected to double-teams.
The Hawks had no answer for Cavalier senior guard Malcolm Brogdon, who was a preseason favorite to earn ACC Player of the Year honors. Brogdon had a game high 23 points on an efficient 10-of-15 shooting from the field.
Despite Virginia’s unexpected loss to previously unranked George Washington University on Nov. 16, the Cavaliers seemed to have returned to their winnings way of last season – a year that earned them a No. 2 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Lehigh’s lack of defensive composure has hurt it all season, despite only surrendering 57 points to the Syracuse University Orange in its opener. Since then, the Hawks have given up an average of over 86 points per game.
For Brett Reed’s club, the road to Patriot League play is not getting any lighter. The Hawks will travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, for a matchup with No. 16 ranked Purdue University on Friday night at 8 p.m. on ESPN3.
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