Lehigh Star McCollum Injured in Loss to VCU

The game may not have been the biggest loss the Lehigh Mountain Hawks suffered in a 59-55 defeat at Virginia Commonwealth Saturday night.

The team’s best player, All-American C.J. McCollum, may have broken a bone in his left foot, according to reports. It is unclear how severe the injury is or how much time Lehigh’s star senior guard will miss.

“It appears as if there may be a break in his foot,” Lehigh coach Brett Reed told The Express-Times. “It is too early to make that diagnosis for sure. I’m certainly not an expert in that area. We’re going to take him back, do some tests and we’ll ultimately have some confirmation from there, but I think it is a little bit more significant than an ankle sprain.”

McCollum missed the first game of his college career on Dec. 20 at North Texas with an ankle sprain.

More than 30 NBA scouts were at the Virginia Commonwealth game Saturday night, mostly to watch McCollum, according to the announcers for the NBC Sports Network, which broadcast the game to a national cable audience.

McCollum entered Saturday night’s game leading the nation in scoring, averaging 25.7 points per game.

The injury forced him to leave the game toward the end of the first half, during which he scored four points, all on free throws. He returned to the bench in the second half on crutches and with his left foot tightly wrapped.

Without the Patriot League’s all-time leading scorer, the Mountain Hawks played valiantly to keep the game close until the end. Holden Greiner led Lehigh with 17 points.