World Best Sports

C.J. McCollum scores 22 points to help Lehigh post 79-71 win over Quinnipiac.

Unable to gain weight and realizing that playing quarterback wasn’t in his athletic future, C.J. McCollum gave up on football and concentrated more on basketball in the eighth grade.

The basketball coach at Glen Oak High in Canton, Ohio, had to love that decision because McCollum scored with ease there — as he did in his first home game at Lehigh Wednesday night at Stabler Arena.

The Mountain Hawks, who were picked to finish second in the Patriot League, relied mostly on McCollum’s team-high 22 points to beat Quinnipiac 79-71 in a non-league matchup.

McCollum took charge with his dribble and shooting to score seven of his points in the final six minutes. That’s when Lehigh (1-2) turned a four-point advantage into a more comfortable 66-56 lead off a McCollum soft, hanging jumper in the lane with 3:49 remaining.

”I’ve been a scorer all my life,” said McCollum, who scored a school-record 1,405 points at Glen Oak, twice earning first-team all-state honors.

”It’s a bit of an adjustment playing at the collegiate level, but when I have open shots, I just try to knock them down,” added McCollum, who was named Ohio’s Gatorade player of the year as a senior. ”My brother [Eric] always told me that wherever I go, just try and play my game and just try to do things within the offense.”

With Lehigh seniors Marquis Hall (nine points, 10 assists) Zahir Carrington (four points) both failing to get their offensive games in gear, McCollum demonstrated the skills that had him on the recruiting list of St. Bonaventure of the Atlantic 10 and some Mid-American Conference schools.

Lehigh easily won over McCollum.

”When it came down to it, basically it was academics and I really liked this school a lot,” he said. ”I felt like I could come in and help out the team, and I like the coaching staff, too.”

McCollum entered the game averaging 12.5 points per game, second behind Hall. He was more aggressive than Hall in the clutch minutes and was more than the Bobcats (1-1) could handle in the open floor.

Lehigh junior guard Rob Keefer came off the bench to add 13 points in just 14 minutes, and junior guard Michael Ojo, another reserve, added 11 points and eight assists.

McCollum’s play was the biggest key. He was 9 of 16 from the field, including 4 of 8 on 3-pointers.

”It was so critical for our success in this game, and hopefully will be critical for us as we continue to progress throughout the season,” Lehigh coach Brett Reed said. ”C.J. is a very skilled player who has a feathery, soft jump shot. It allows him to stretch the defense, but he’s multidimensional as well with his ability to put the ball on the deck, create some offense and start to shift the defense a little bit more from what we’ve had in the past.”

It’s a good thing McCollum’s game is already in gear because multiple players Lehigh expected to lead the charge this season are still in a shell. Carrington, the defending league rebounding champ, is only averaging 4.3 points per game, and junior guard Prentice Small is only averaging 3.7 points after going scoreless against Quinnipiac.

But Reed isn’t as worried because he’s still playing around with his starting lineup. McCollum and 6-foot-9 freshman Gabe Knutson (four points, five rebounds) both look like they’ll remain starters with Hall and Carrington.

”At this time of year it’s a constant evaluation to see who can produce, who can answer the bell and then who can be consistent in their performance as well,” Reed said.

QUINNIPIAC (71)
Justin Rutty 9-122 1-3 19, Jonathan Cruz 2-7 0-0 4, James Johnson 1-6 7-9 4, Jeremy Baker 0-3 3-4 3, James Fedeine 9-20 3-4 22, Deontay Twyman 1-7 0-0 3, Dave Johnson 0-2 1-2 1, Eric Coggins 0-0 0-0 0, EvannBaker 0-1 0-0 0, Ryan Bodgan 0-0 0-0 0, Jamee Jackson 3-4 3-5 9. Totals: 25-62 18-27 71.
LEHIGH (79)
Zahir Carrington 2-6 0-0 4, Gabe Kutson 2-5 0-3 4, Marquis Hall 2-6 4-6 9, C.J. McCollum 9-16 0-0 22, Dave Buchberger 0-2 1-2 1, John Adams 0-1 4-4 4, Prentice Small 0-3 0-0 0, Rob Keefer 3-6 5-6 13, Michael Ojo 3-7 4-5 11, Justin Manerri 2-2 5-6 9, Jordan Hamilton 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 24-55 23-32 79.
Quinnipiac — 32 – 39 — 71
Lehigh — 33 – 36 — 79
3-pointers – Q: 3 (Johnson, Feldeine, Twyman); L: 8 (McCollum 4, Keefer 2, Hall, Ojo); Rebounds – Q: 43 (Feldeine 10, Rutty 8); L: 37 (Ojo 8, Knutzon 5); Assists – Q: 13 (Johnson 5); L: 18 (Hall 10); Turnovers – Q 15, L 13.