No. 22 Wisconsin gets past Lehigh

Dec 15, 2022; Madison, Wisconsin, USA;  Wisconsin Badgers forward Steven Crowl (22) looks to pass the ball under coverage by Lehigh Mountain Hawks forward Dominic Parolin (35) and guard Reed Fenton (4) during the first half at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Kayla Wolf-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Kayla Wolf-USA TODAY Sports

Steven Crowl scored 15 points to lead No. 22 Wisconsin to a 78-56 home win over Lehigh on Thursday in Madison, Wis.

Jordan Davis scored 14 points, and Tyler Wahl and Connor Essegian each added 13 points for the Badgers (9-2), who have won four straight games.

Evan Taylor scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and Keith Higgins Jr. scored 15 points in defeat for Lehigh (4-5), which has lost three straight.

The Badgers held just a 49-45 lead with 9:55 remaining, but they took charge of the game after that.

Wisconsin went up 55-49 with 7:40 left, and then went on a 12-0 run over the next 2:43 to grab a 67-49 lead with 4:57 to go. The Badgers eventually built their lead to as many as 25 points.

Wisconsin finished shooting 51.7 percent from the field overall (31 of 60), including 52.4 percent from 3-point range (11 of 21), and outrebounded Lehigh by a 34-20 margin.

The Mountain Hawks finished shooting 21 of 37 on 2-point attempts but were only 4 of 14 from 3-point range and committed 13 turnovers.

Lehigh held a 32-31 at halftime and didn’t fade early in the second half, taking a 38-36 lead with 16:55 remaining in the game on a basket by Taylor.

The Mountain Hawks then made it 43-38 with 14:19 left with five straight points from Higgins before Wisconsin went on an 11-0 run, sparked by Essegian’s consecutive 3-pointers, to take a 49-43 lead with 10:11 remaining.

Lehigh got off to a strong start, taking a 17-8 lead with 9:38 remaining in the first half after a basket by Tyler Whitney-Sidney.

Wisconsin answered with a 10-0 run to take an 18-17 lead with 7:07 to go until halftime. The teams went back and forth the rest of the half, with Taylor scoring 10 points by halftime for Lehigh and Wahl leading the Badgers with 10 in the half.

–Field Level Media

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