Lehigh 71, American U. 60

Published Jan. 11, 2012 10:26 p.m. ET

foxsports

C.J. McCollum scored 26 points and Lehigh used a second-half surge to beat American University 71-60 on Wednesday night, as the Mountain Hawks won their first Patriot League game of the season.

McCollum's total gives him 1,679 points for his career, moving him from 11th to 9th in Patriot League history with 12 regular season games remaining in his junior season.

John Adams had 11 points, which included a 3-for-5 performance from 3-point range for Lehigh (13-5, 1-1).

The Eagles led 25-22 late in the first half, but the Mountain Hawks answered with eight of the final 11 first-half points for a 30-28 lead at halftime.

Adams and Jordan Hamilton combined for five 3s in the first 12 minutes of the second half, giving Lehigh its first double-digit lead of the game at 56-46 with 8:01 left.

Charles Hinkle scored 22 points to lead American (10-7, 1-1).