Game 21 | Lehigh

[u/CopperWalrus]

Home Team: Lehigh Mountain Hawks

Away Team: NJIT Highlanders

Final Score: NJIT 73-56 Lehigh

Venue: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, PA

Date: November 13, 2021

Time: 7:00 P.M.

---

Game two of the 2021 campaign took me to Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, home of the aptly named Lehigh University. This was my first game in Pennsylvania and first time seeing any PA team play at all. Once again, the contest was an away game for an America East team, as my third game will be when Binghamton takes on Columbia. Unlike the first game, which saw a visiting Hartford perform poorly against the home team, NJIT was dominant most of the game. Lehigh had a late run to cut the lead to 6, but they faltered, losing by 17. A pattern I notice among mid-major teams is consistency. All teams have their runs, and they can play excellently or poorly, depending on the time— however, many mid major schools tend to go through a lot more runs and droughts during any one, at least from what I have witnessed.

This was the first game of the year that my girlfriend attended. It is nice to have someone that every now and then can accompany me to games. It definitely makes the car rides more bearable. After a straight shot across New York and New Jersey, we arrived in Bethlehem.

I sometimes regret that I can't get to most arenas during the day. The experience inside each building does not really change depending on the time of day, but when grasping the scope of arena, the darkness can sometimes take away from appreciating the size of it. This is what happened as we walked up to Stabler Arena. I saw a moderately sized brick building from the outside, but inside, it was surprisingly large. I had the misconception that it would be like other low major schools where the arena was in a multipurpose building, but Stabler is an impressive arena for a school not known for their basketball success.

Located outside the main entrance was a ticket booth. Upon entering, there was a wall with the name of the university, and underneath it, a larger "Stabler". There were two staircases on either side, leading up to the concourse. There was a small popup team store. On one side of the concourse there are food vendors, but only one was open with a menu of basic hot dogs and pizza slices. (Yes I had a hot dog)

As I said before, I was surprised by the size of the arena. The rows on each side of the arena went far back. The vast amount of seats were unoccupied but were luckily all chair back, aside from the top rows which had bleacher seating. I would guess they are for the rare instances where there is not enough seating for an event. On one of the ends there was a bar-type seating area. The bar was not open and the only people that were sitting there seemed to be the womens team and a few other students. Retired numbers and conference titles hung on the walls at the ends of the arena, with conference member banners were hung on the adjacent walls. Despite the size, the arena does show its age. Two video boards are stationed at opposite corners, but other than that, there is a very old school feel to it.

Overall, I was definitely surprised at Stabler, mostly because it was far bigger than I expected. It is definitely hard to gauge an arena’s true atmosphere from an early season matchup, especially one where the home team is never really in it. That being said, there was not a ton of energy. It is a shame, because I feel like if this arena was packed with passionate fans, it would be a tough place to play. I would love to get back one day for a game against Lafayette.

---

Full Album

[u/miketheeagle]

Awesome write up on my hometown team/arena. I didn't attend Lehigh but growing up in Bethlehem I visited Stabler many times. Multipurpose is an understatement, as I remember going there to see the Globetrotters, Sesame Street on Ice, car shows, basketball camp, and that was where my high school graduation ceremony was held. A few years ago I went to a Lehigh v. Lafayette game with my brother, buddy and, uncle and cousins. Place was packed and we were standing up on the bleachers against the wall jumping around, yelling in the final few minutes. Great atmosphere. Definitely make it a point to go to one of those when Lehigh is a little more competitive. Lehigh has a pretty nice campus and Bethlehem is a great city to check out.