BETHLEHEM, Pa. –– Lehigh (16-7, 9-3 Patriot League) made 12 triples and matched its nation's-leading three-point field goal percentage in an 83-57 victory over the Navy (8-15, 5-7) men's basketball team Saturday afternoon at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.
 
"We got beat by a very, very hungry team tonight," said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis.  "They got beat here by 22 the other night (an 84-62 loss to Colgate in Stabler Arena on Monday) and they were ready to play today."
 
Navy scored on its first possession of the game and held the Mountain Hawks scoreless over the first 3:20 of the contest.  The Mids, however, couldn't capitalize on those early opportunities and didn't score again until a jumper by John Carter Jr. (Fr., Spring Hill, Tenn.) made the score 14-4 in favor of the Mountain Hawks with 11:54 remaining in the half.
 
"We had our chances early in the first half," said DeChellis.  "They had turned it over three out of four possessions, but we couldn't get the ball in the basket either."
 
The margin would again be 10 points at both 21-11 and 23-13, but Lehigh answered with a 5-0 and 11-2 run to rebuild ots separation.  The Mountain Hawks would lead by as many as 21 points in the first half and went into intermission with a 42-23 advantage.
 
Lehigh made seven three-point field goals in the first half and shot 52 percent from the field as a whole.  In contrast, Navy made one trey and eight field goals altogether and connected on just 24 percent of its field goal attempts.
 
Navy made a few inroads into the deficit early in the second half, winnowing the gap down to as few as 13 points at 49-36 (14:46 left) thanks in no small measure to Hasan Abdullah (Sr., Birmingham, Ala.), who accounted for 10 of the team's first 13 points of the second half.  Lehigh responded with a 5-0 run and would grow its lead to as many as 26 points.
 
Lehigh was 12-25 (46.2%) from three-point land in the game and made 46.6 percent of its shots overall.  Navy made six triples, shot 20 percent from beyond the arc and sank 28 percent of its field goal attempts. 
 
"Offensively," said DeChellis, "we had our worst production of the year.  We couldn't make a basket; we shot poorly from three (point range), shot poorly from the field.
 
"We didn't have much productivity from anybody, and you can't go on the road and play a team like Lehigh who is in the hunt for the regular season title in the league and not play one of your best games."
 
Lehigh also held advantages of 48-33 on the glass, 19-6 in points scored after turnovers and 16-6 in second chance points.
 
Abdullah ended the game leading the Mids in both points and rebounds with 14 and 7, respectively.  Josiah Strong (Fr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) scored 10 points, the most he has scored in a league game and one short of his season-best effort (11 at Lipscomb).
 
Lehigh was led in scoring by Pat Andree, who was 5-7 from three-point range on his way to scoring 22 points.
 
Navy will return to Alumni Hall Wednesday night when the Mids play host to Lafayette.