Edouard Benoit scored 18 points and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks beat the Cornell Big Red 71-64 on Thursday night at Stabler Arena.
Benoit made 5 of 11 shots, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, and went 5-of-5 at the free-throw line in 23 minutes. He added 6 rebounds.
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Lehigh took control early. With the game tied 2-2 in the first half, the Mountain Hawks scored 11 straight points to go up 13-2. They led 39-32 at halftime, and Cornell never got closer than a tie the rest of the way. The second half ended even at 32 apiece. The game had 2 lead changes and 5 ties. Lehigh led by as many as 13, while Cornell's largest lead was 2.
Joshua Ingram had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for Lehigh. Hank Alvey scored 14 points and made 6 of 7 free throws.
Quinn Gibson led Cornell with 13 points and 7 rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting, but he made just 1 of 5 free throws. Jacob Beccles also scored 13 points and went 5-of-5 from the line. Anthony Nimani added 10 points.
Both teams shot 37% from the field. The difference came at the line and from deep: Lehigh went 20-of-26 on free throws to Cornell's 13-of-18, and 7-of-20 on 3-pointers while Cornell hit 5 of 31. Cornell held a 36-30 edge in points in the paint, and Lehigh won the rebounding battle 42-40.
Both teams are 1-1. The game drew 1,141 fans.
