Jan. 19, 2002
Box Score
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WEST POINT, N.Y. (www.lafayette.edu) - Chris Spatola scored 10 points in the opening six minutes, igniting Army to an early 15-6 lead, and the Black Knights led from wire-to-wire en route to an 85-72 win over Lafayette at West Point's Christl Arena.
Spatola and his brother, J.P. Spatola, each tallied 19 point as Army (8-9 overall, 2-2 Patriot League) snapped a two-game losing streak and beat Lafayette (8-8, 2-2) for just the second time in the teams' last 13 meetings.
The loss drops Lafayette into a four-way tie for third place in the Patriot League.
Army parlayed its fast start into a 41-29 halftime lead before Lafayette made a second-half surge. The Leopards, behind seven points from Brian Burke and six by Mick Kuberka in the half's opening seven minutes, twice sliced Army's cushion to five points. The final time, the Leopards moved within 51-46 on a Burke bucket with 13:47 to play, but Army went on a 22-10 run over the next 8:08 to assume a 17-point lead at 73-56 with 5:41 to play.
Kuberka tallied a career-high 19 points to lead three Leopards in double figures. Burke added 15 points and Justin DeBerry notched 12. Lafayette shot 54.9 percent from the field.
Lafayette continues a challenging four-game road swing with a 7 p.m. contest at Penn on Monday, Jan. 21. The Leopards then return to Patriot League action at Navy on Wednesday, Jan. 23, before returning to Kirby Sports Center to host Colgate on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 3:15 p.m.
