(Originally posted Sat. at 10:34 p.m., links added 8:37 a.m.)

By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Special to The Telegram & Gazette

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Jose Olivero scored 29 points, including four in the last 16.1 seconds to lead Lehigh to a 64-63 come-from-behind win over Holy Cross in front of 2,496 in Stabler Arena.

Olivero, who was Lehigh's only real producer on offense all night, got the Mountain Hawks within 1 with a pair of free throws with 16.1 seconds left. The game-winner came less than 12 seconds later, after Lehigh's Bryan White made a leaping deflection of a long Holy Cross inbounds pass near midcourt.

White came seemingly out of nowhere to slap the ball away from Holy Cross point guard Torey Thomas and into the hands of Lehigh's Kyle Neptune. After a timeout, the Mountain Hawk's put the ball in Olivero's hands at the top of the key. Olivero took a couple of dribbles, then nearly broke Kevin Hamilton's ankle with a nasty crossover move at the foul line before finishing with a one-handed runner from three feet out.

"(Olivero) made a tough shot. It was a big time move," said Hamilton, who led the Crusaders with 20 points.

The bucket gave Lehigh its only lead in the final 33:34 of the game. It also gave the Mountain Hawks (13-9, 6-1) sole possession of second place in the Patriot League, one game behind Bucknell, which spanked Navy 81-47 last night to stay unbeaten in league play. The Bison took sole possession of first Wednesday night when they beat Lehigh here.

"We didn't do a good job attacking (Olivero). We let him dictate what he wanted to do. We didn't make him feel uncomfortable with the basketball," Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard said.

Olivero finished the night 10-for-16 from the field, and added 7 more on 7 free throws. His big night helped to make up for an off night by lehigh's Joe Knight, who suffered through a miserable 2-for-13 shooting night, finishing with 5 points, well below his 16.4 average.

For much of the night, it looked as though Holy Cross would send the Mountain Hawks to a second home loss in a row. The Crusaders got big production from Tim Clifford inside early and led by as many as 16 in the first half before settling for a 37-28 lead at the break. Clifford, who has emerged as a post presence for HC since moving into the starting lineup three games ago, was more than any Lehigh big man could handle, hitting 6 of 7 shots in the first half, including a pair of three-pointers when the Mountain Hawks left the 6-11 sophomore all alone at the top of the arc.

Clifford cooled off early in the second half though. He missed his first four shots, including two layins and another open look from three-point range. By the time the Crusaders fed him the ball in the post again Lehigh had managed to pull even with the Crusaders at 55-55 with just under five minutes left.

"I got my number called four times in a row and didn't convert . . . I kind of got off track and by the time I got back on, it was too late," said Clifford, who finished with 19 points and 7 rebounds.

Clifford put the Crusaders back in the lead with an old-fashioned layup-and-one three-point play, and after a Olivero layup that cut the lead back to 1, Clifford again stretched it to three with a short jumper with 3:34 to play.

That turned out to be the last field goal Holy Cross would make. The Crusaders shot just 8-for-26 (30.8 percent) in the second half, but it seemed as if it would be enough when the Crusaders had the ball with 31 seconds to play and a 3-point lead.

Even after Holy Cross squandered that opportunity to make it a two-posession game on a Torey Thomas turnover, it seemed as if they would still hold on when Lehigh's Joe Knight clanged a three-point try off the front iron at the other end. But Olivero chased down the long carom, keeping Lehigh alive and setting the stage for his end-of-game heroics.

"(Olivero) made great plays going down the stretch. The biggest thing was the rebound. We defended that possession great and then Jose comes up with the rebound. That was the game," Willard said.

Holy Cross had a chance at the end, but freshman Colin Cunningham's open three from the left corner was off the mark. Cunningham was on the floor in that situation because Keith Simmons, who has been bothered by cramps much of the season, was out of the game after suffering from another cramp.

"We got a great look at the end of the game. We had a freshman taking that shot. We try to have Keith in that position, rather than Colin. Unfortunately, Keith, at that point, couldn't run down the floor," Willard said.

Thomas, who played the last 12:27 with four personal fouls, finished with 12 points. But he also had an uncharacteristic 7 turnovers, with just 1 assist.

Despite having two losses in league play, all is not lost for the Crusaders, who will get both teams that beat them, Bucknell and Lehigh, in the Hart Center in the second half of the league schedule. Holy Cross will close out its first lap around the conference at Navy on Wednesday.

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