Patriot League Notebook
by Harry Adams
Mountain Hawks soaring
With two victories this past weekend over Lafayette and Army, the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks (13-5, 5-0) find themselves sitting atop the Patriot League in sole possession of first place.
In the first nationally televised Direct TV Patriot League “Game of the Week”, the Mountain Hawks defeated their cross-valley rival Lafayette 85-73 in front of a rowdy home crowd at Stabler Arena. Leading the way for the Mountain Hawks was senior point guard Zlatko Savovic who finished the contest with 28 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and five steals. Savovic’s dominating play proved to be the key to the game for Lehigh. After entering halftime with the score tied at 39, Lehigh opened up the second half with a 9-2 run and never look back. Once again, leading the way was Savovic. In addition to shooting 55.6 percent, the Mountain Hawks were able to convert Lafayette’s twelve turnovers into 24 points. Lafayette placed four players in double figures led by Winston Davis who tallied eighteen points in the losing effort.
Then, on Super Bowl Sunday, the Mountain Hawks played host to the Black Knights of Army in a game that, at one point, saw Lehigh open up a 30 point lead. However, that lead was cut to 13 points with approximately five minutes remaining in the contest. Lehigh used a 14-0 first half run, combined with a strong defensive effort that held the Black Knights scoreless for 6:28 to lead 39-23 at the half. Then came the Army run! Led by Andrew Pawling’s 16 points, the Black Knights rallied with a 15-0 run to cut the lead to 66-55 with 5:14 to play. But Lehigh countered by scoring the next seven points. They were led, once again, by Savovic who finished with 18 points and 5 assists. Lehigh proved too strong for the Black Knights (5-12, 0-5 Patriot League) who have yet to win a game in Patriot League Play.
Player of the week
Zlatko Savovic, Lehigh
The 6-3 senior from Everett, Washington led the way in both of this past weekend’s victories over cross-valley rival Lafayette and the Black Knights of Army. Against Lafayette on Friday, Savovic finished with 28 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and five steals as well as a 28 footer to beat the buzzer before half. Sunday versus Army, Savovic once again paved the way for the victorious Mountain Hawks with 18 points and 5 assists.
Game of the week
The first place Lehigh Mountain Hawks (13-5, 5-0) versus the second place Holy Cross Crusaders (14-4, 4-1)
A Lehigh win would move the Mountain Hawks two games ahead of second place, and two-time defending Patriot League champions, Holy Cross. A Holy Cross victory would tie the two teams atop the Patriot League. Lehigh is led by Matt Logie and Zlatko Savovic, 15.9 ppg and 14.7 ppg respectively. Holy Cross has four players who average double figures led by Tim Szatko (11.9 ppg).
