On Wednesday night, the Lehigh University men's basketball team battled Bucknell University with first place in the Patriot League hanging in the balance at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks prevailed with an 81-59 win as rookie C.J. McCollum's 29 points established a new league freshman scoring record.
The game had all the makings to be a classic and draw a large crowd with so much at stake. But as I sat press row with Andre Williams of the Morning Call next to me, we both were baffled at the lack of Lehigh University students. Especially compared to the Bison contingent that made the trek from Lewisburg, Pa.
The official attendance is listed at 1,161, but if you saw the game, Bucknell supporters made up a large amount of that number. Opposite me behind the team benches, those in Brown & White were overshadowed and dominated by the sea of Bucknell blue and orange. Their crowd was loud at first, but once the game got out of hand, they were quieted.
After the big win, I asked Lehigh coach Brett Reed what it would take to attract the students to a basketball game.
"It’s a unique situation, we have 4 p.m. (midterm) exams this week," Reed said. "It's difficult for our students, who are rightly focused on academics. If they're pulling all-nighters for tests, it can make it a little more difficult for an extracurricular activity. It's the by-product of our academic calendar."
The midterms end today so students have no excuse, especially not being on the other side of the mountain, to not pack Stabler Arena for Saturday's regular-season finale against Holy Cross and for the first round of the playoffs next Wednesday.
Home court advantage is so key in
Source: Express Time
On this page I will have all information on sports events from Nazareth High School and all other sports events in the country. I will also have news about myself and other people.
No comments:
Post a Comment