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Sunday, February 25, 2007
Holy Cross-Lehigh notebook
Leftovers from the notebook following Holy Cross' 62-50 win at lehigh Sunday.

  • Lehigh opened the game with all four of its seniors starting. That meant freshman point guard Marquis Hall sat the first 3:41, allowing little used Adam Hycik to get his first start of his career. Jason Mgebroff also made his first start since returning to action Feb. 14 following a lengthy absence due to stress fractures in his leg. Also starting was Kyle Neptune, who has been coming off the bench in recent weeks.

  • A decent crowd on hand, especially considering the threat of nasty weather this afternoon in the Lehigh Valley. Less than 100 students behind the west basket, though and the pep band is smaller today (8 members) than it was for last night's HC-Lehigh women's game. The Stabler ticket office appears to have wisely tried to sell the side behind the players benches, opposite the ESPNU cameras, making the place look fuller on TV than in person. Unfortunately, the lower middle section, direcly behind the scorers table, is only about half full, presumably due to season ticket holder no shows.

  • Holy Cross center Tim Clifford, the league's leading shotblocker at 1.7 per game, exceeded his average in the first 2:18 of the game, snuffing Bryan White on Lehigh's first possession and swatting away a Neptune jumper with 17:42 to go in the first half. Clifford also hit a three in the early going. Clifford, though, was 1 for 6 from the field with just two rebounds when he took a seat with 7:36 to play in the half after picking up two quick fouls in a span of about 30 seconds.Clifford finished with 5 blocks and 5 rebounds and was 3 for 7 from the field after the break to finish with 9 points.

  • Holy Cross reserve forward Colin Cunningham didn't get an inch shorter. He just looks it now that he has changed his hair style. Gone is the curly mop-top he sported since arriving in Worcester last season. In its place, a sparse buzzed, but not shaved, look.

  • In the scoring battle between tow of the league's top four scorers, Lehigh's Olivero had the early edge over Holy Cross star Keith Simmons. Olivero scored Lehigh's first 6 points of the game. Simmons did not have a bucket the first 13:30. At the half, Olivero, fourth in the league coming in with a 16.7 points per game average, had 11 on 4 for 7 shooting. Simmons, who leads the league at 17.7 ppg, was 2 for 4 for 4 points. The second half was a complete turnaround, with Simmons scoring 10 of his 14 after intermission while Olivero added just a meaningless pair of late free throws while going 0 for 4 from the field.

  • The winter storm arrived early for Holy Cross, which experienced icy conditions early. Through the first 12:24 of the game, the Crusaders were 3 for 5 (20 percent) from the field, 1 of 5 from three-point range. During that same span, Lehigh was 6 for 18 (33 percent). By the half, Holy Cross had imporved to 9 for 26 (34.6 percent). Lehigh was 11 for 27 (40.7 percent) from the field in the first half.

  • Holy Cross stayed close in the first half by going 10 for 12 at the foul line, led by Alex Vander Baan, who was 7 for 7 to account for all but 2 of his 9 first-half points. Torey Thomas, who had 11 in the opening stanza, was 3 for 4 at the line.

  • Most amazing stat of the first half: Lehigh with just three turnovers against HC's ball-hawking defense, which has been forcing over 17 turnovers per game.

  • The first half battle of the big men was a draw. Clifford played 10 minutes with 2 rebounds and 3 points. Mgebroff had 2 points, 0 rebounds in 11 minutes. The second half was all Clifford. Clifford finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 blocks. Mgebroff's end of the night line: 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist.

  • Lehigh was without the services of two sophomore reserves, 7-foot center John Gourlay and 6-5 forward Greg Page. Gourlay, who also missed Wednesday night's Bucknell game, is out with an unspecified shoulder injury. No word on Page's situation.

  • Lehigh's freshman point guard Marquis Hall was 2 for 8 from the field, finishing with 5 points, 5 assists and 4 turnovers. It was the second straight off night for the expected league Rookie of the Year. Wednesday against Bucknell, Hall had a streak of eight straight double figure scoring efforts end when he was held to 4 points on 1 of 8 shooting from the field, 0 for 4 from the arc. Hall was 1 for 4 from three-point range against Holy Cross.

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    • Published at 6:47 PM by Hoop Time.
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