Feb. 14, 2000

Box Score

STONY BROOK, NY - Brian Ehlers hit the game winning layup with 10 seconds left, and scored nine of Lafayette's last 11 points to lead Lafayette to a 71-69 victory over Stony Brook. The game was a homecoming for Ehlers, who grew up in nearby Bay Shore, NY on Long Island.

The Leopards trailed for the majority of the opening half. Stony Brook led 19-9 at the 12 :00 mark and by as many as 13 in the first half. Lafayette began to emerge from its first half shooting slump near the end of the half as Ehlers and Tyson Whitfield both hit three-pointers near the end of the half to pull Lafayette within five at 33-28 heading into the locker room.

Ehlers and Whitfield led the Leopards with seven points apiece despite Lafayette shooting just 39 percent in the first half. The Leopards didn't take one trip to the free throw line in the opening session.

Lafayette opened the second half with a 6-0 spurt to take a 34-33 lead by 17:02. However, the Leopards found themselves down 44-36 at 14:14. Lafayette then rattled off an 11-0 run, which gave Lafayette a 47-44 lead, but saw sophomore guard Brian Burke's consecutive free throw streak stop at 49.

Lafayette led 58-51 at 5:42 following two straight baskets from Frank Barr. Stony Brook closed it to 60-59 with 3:23 following three's by Francis Oloa and Pablo Poras. After two free throws and a driving layup by Ehlers, Ehlers fed Stefan Ciosici for a dunk with 1:29, but Ciosici was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim, and Stony Brooks' Steve Pratta hit two free throws and made two more on the subsequent posession.

Ehlers came down and hit a three pointer to take a 69-66 lead for the Leopards at 1:07. Pratta responded with a trey of his own to tie the game up with 41 seconds remaining.

And then Ehlers took over. He was determined to make his homecoming a happy one, and he did so with a driving layup on the left side that turned out to be the game winner. Stony Brook couldn't muster a shot versus the Leopards' stingy defense in the last 11 seconds, and Lafayette secured the win.

Ehlers led the Leopards with 24 points, followed by Whitfield's 14 points and Ciosici with 12, respectively. The Sea Wolves were led by Pratta's 25 points as four Stony Brook players reached double-figures. Lafayette improves to 17-6 overall and hosts Army on Wednesday, Feb. 16 beginning at 7:30 p.m.