Lehigh wins it, beats Towson 40-38 in NCAA FCS playoff game; headed to North Dakota State

FROM KEITH GROLLER

Chris Lum completed 36 of 48 passes for 351 yards and one touchdown and Matt Fitz ran for a pair of scores, but it was a defensive play -- a safety by Tom Bianchi with 5:14 left that was the difference -- in a stunning 40-38 victory for Lehigh over Towson here today before more than 11,000 at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

This will send the Patriot League champion Mountain Hawks (12-1) on to the FCS quarterfinals next Saturday against North Dakota State.

The amazing career of Lum continues for at least one more game.



6:41 p.m.

Just a tremendous victory here at Towson for Lehigh as they get a safety of all things to beat the CAA champion Tigers, 40-38. It's on to North Dakota State for the Mountain Hawks are now 12-1 in this amazing season.

6:35 p.m.

Lehigh is just 1:35 from pulling out an amazing victory here at Towson. After getting a safety, Lehigh has run off two first downs. They have it at the Towson 26 with 1:35 left.

6:24 p.m.

Mark Wickware recoves an onside kick. Lehigh ball at its own 41. That could be the key play of the game.

6:20 p.m.

Chris Lum's 1-yard TD run caps another Lehigh scoring drive and it's 38-38 with 8:17 left. The teams have combined for 773 yards of offense and we're far from over here. The game has been tied six times now and the teams have combined for four straight scoring drives.

6:01 p.m.

Towson leads Lehigh 31-24 after three quarters, but Lehigh is on the move at the Tigers 20. Great finish coming.

5:28 p.m.

Towson gets its first lead of the day as Terrance West converts 41-yard drive for his second TD of the day. That's West's 8th straight game with two TDs. Towson leads 24-17 with 10:50 left in third quarter.

5:20 p.m.

Lehigh's Keith Sherman fumbles on the first play from scrimmages in the second half and Towson recovers at the Lehigh 41. Not a good way to start third quarter.

5:13 p.m.

Lehigh outgained Towson 214-168 in the first half. Of Lehigh's 33 plays, 25 were passes. Of Towson's 38 plays, 23 were rushes. Lum was 18-for-24 in the first half for 170 yards. Spadola had seven catches for 76 yards for Lehigh. Terrance West was slow in starting, but had 30 yards rushing on six carries, including 27 on his last three. Lehigh will get the ball to start the second half.

5:02 p.m.

We're at halftime here at Towson and we really have the game we expected, although it may not have gotten here the way we expected. It's 17-17 and here's your scoring recap:

First Quarter

Lehigh: Tim Divers 22 FG (10:57) Drive--7 plays, 37 yards, 2:32

Towson: D.J. Soven 45 FG (7:11) Drive--9 plays, 40 yards, 3:42

Lehigh: Ryan Spadola 6 pass from Chris Lum, Divers kick (3:50) Drive--6 plays, 68 yards, 3:14

Second Quarter

Towson: Terrance West 11 run, Soven kick (10:07) Drive -- 10 plays, 52 yards, 4:30

Lehigh: Jamel Haggins 23 pass from Matt Fitz, Divers kick (5:29) Drive -- 11 plays, 99 yards, 4:38

Towson: Leon Kinnard 3 pass from Grant Enders, Soven kick (0:49) Drive -- 13 plays, 67 yards, 4:33

4:40 p.m.

Things were going badly for Lehigh as Towson got a tying touchdown and took advantage of a mental mistake on kickoff return to pin M-Hawks back at their own half-foot line. But Lehigh went 99 yards on 11 plays, and scored on a gadget play to take a 17-10 lead.

4:13 p.m.

First quarter ends with Lehigh up 10-3 and totally dominating Towson. Mountain Hawks have outgained the Tigers 113-49.

3:59 p.m.

Personal foul penalty (helmet-first hit) moves Lehigh to the Towson 33.

3:55 p.m.

Towson gets a break on a pass completion that looked like it hit the ground. Converts the break into a game-tying field goal. 3-3.

3:44 p.m.

Lehigh turns the ill-advised fake punt attempt into three points as Tim Divers boots a 22-yard field goal to cap a 7-play, 37-yard drive. It's Lehigh 3, Towson 0 with 10:57 left in the first quarter.

3:40 p.m.

Towson tries a fake punt at the end of first possession, but doesn't make it. Lehigh takes over at Towson 41 and hits a big pass play to Ryan Spadola to set up a first down at Tigers 11.

3:30 p.m.

Pretty neat pregame entrance by Towson complete with them coming out through a Tiger head and some flares shooting off. Nothing like Lehigh's standard entrance at Goodman Stadium.

Sean Landeta, a punter in the NFL for 22 years, most notably with the Giants and Eagles, is the honorary captain for Towson.

2:46 p.m.

Nice, easy ride and a beautiful day here at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Maryland, where we are about 47 minutes away from kickoff.

Lehigh brought with it a sense of optimism about this one, along with a potent offense.

We're hearing Towson is banged up in a few areas, especially on defense, and that could help Lehigh.

We heard Lehigh sold only 500 tickets for the game, which is disappointing considering it's less than three hours here from Bethlehem. They could miss out on a special day.

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