While Wednesday night began in celebration for the Greyhound faithful, it ended in sadness. The Lehigh Mountain Hawks crashed Loyola’s senior night festivities, and downed the Greyhounds at Reitz Arena.
Led by senior guard Kahron Ross, ’18, the Mountain Hawks topped the Hounds in a back and forth affair by a final score of 80-74. Ross, the all-time Patriot League assist leader, tallied a game-high 20 points to propel Lehigh to its seventh-straight victory.
On the opposing sideline, the Hounds loss extends their losing streak to four games. Loyola found bright spots from senior guard Andre Walker, ’18, and senior center Cam Gregory, ‘18. Walker racked up 19 points, while Gregory added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Lehigh opened a sizeable lead early in the first half, and held the advantage for nearly the entire game. While Lehigh led for the majority, the Hounds were hot on the Hawks’ tails throughout the matchup.
Loyola quickly erased a three-point halftime deficit at the opening of the second half. Sophomore guard Andrew Kostecka, ’20, put down an alley-oop early on to ignite the Greyhound crowd. Andre Walker followed with an and-one basket, and put Loyola in front. While the momentum seemed to shift in the Greyhounds’ favor, Lehigh was quick to answer the surge.
Sharp half-court defense, as well as five second half three-pointers, carried the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh went on to widen their lead to as many as ten points in the second half.
Although the Hounds rallied late, Lehigh’s offense proved to be too much to handle. The Mountain Hawks drilled multiple late three-point balls, which silenced Reitz Arena and quieted any hopes of a Hounds comeback.
Along with Ross, Lehigh’s offensive effort was led by sophomore Pat Andree. Andree compiled his third career double-double, as he scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The combination of Ross and Andree wreaked havoc, and left Loyola’s senior conglomerate with a sour taste in their mouths on senior night.
In his fifth year at Loyola, the emotions ran high on Wednesday at Reitz. When asked about his senior class, Loyola Head Coach G.G. Smith praised his senior class. Smith commented, “It goes by really fast. Even though we did not win that many games, it is just the way those guys carried themselves.” The head coach added, “I wish my kids will grow up one day to be like that.”
*Photo courtesy of loyolagreyhounds.com*