March 2, 2002
Audio From Post-Game Press Conference:
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) - Mick Kuberka scored eight of his 16 points over the final eight minutes and Lafayette, after holding a 17-point first-half lead, rallied to beat Colgate 74-71 Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League tournament.
The Leopards (15-13), who had lost twice to Colgate (17-11) during the regular season, will face top-seeded American, which beat Lehigh 82-69, in Sunday's semifinals.
Lafayette led 34-17 with five minutes left in the first half, and was up 41-29 at halftime. Colgate opened the second half with a 10-0 run, and went ahead 49-47 on Tim Sullivan's three-point play with 13:25 remaining. The Raiders stretched the lead to 53-47 on another basket by Sullivan with 11:40 left.
Two free throws by Kuberka at 11:16 started Lafayette on the road back. His three-point play at 7:54 tied the game 55-55. Winston Davis hit a 3-pointer at 7:20 to give the Leopards a 58-55 lead and they didn't trail again.
Kuberka's three-point play with 3:37 to go stretched Lafayette's lead to 67-60.
Brian Burke of Lafayette was 6-for-6 from the free throw line over the final 1:33. The Raiders got two 3-pointers in the final 16 seconds - one by Mark Linebaugh, who led Colgate with 23 points, the other by Sullivan, to get within 72-71 but Burke hit two more free throws with 4.4 seconds left.
Linebaugh's final 3-point try, from about three feet beyond the arc, rimmed out.
Burke finished with 14 points, despite going just 3-for-14 from the field, while Sullivan had 12 points.
The Leopards' Patriot League Tournament semifinal game vs. American will be televised live on the Patriot League Television Network and is available in the Lehigh Valley on WFMZ-TV, channel 69 in Allentown.
