Jan. 3, 2004

Box Score

NEW YORK, N.Y. (www.lafayette.edu) - Five players scored in double figures as Lafayette (9-3) opened the New Year with an 82-73 non-league win at Columbia on Saturday.

Senior forward Rob Dill dropped in 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting to lead the Leopards, while four other players tallied 14 apiece. Dill also grabbed eight rebounds and was credited with six blocked shots defensively.

Dill scored 12 of his 18 in the second half and the Leopards hit 17 of 20 foul shots in the second stanza to hold off an improved Lions' program (3-8).

Freshman guard Marcus Harley, who scored a career-high 14 points in the win, hit a three-pointer with 3:57 left in the first half to the put the Leopards up for good. Lafayette stretched the lead to 11 twice in the second half, the final time on a Winston Davis dunk that capped a late 5-0 run and put the game out of reach.

Harley hit 5-of-8 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 triples. He also hauled in six boards.

Davis, Pat Betley and Justin DeBerry all hit for 14 points, giving the Leopards five players in double figures for the first time since Dec. 30, 2002. Davis connected on 7-of-10 foul shots and snagged five boards. Betley buried 3-of-4 three-pointers en route to his new career high and DeBerry handed out a career-high nine assists for the Leopards who had assists on 19 of their 26 field goals.

Lafayette held a 21-5 edge at the foul line and hit 54.2 percent of its shots from the field, the 11th time in 12 games that the Leopards have shot a higher percentage than their opponent.

Four Lions scored in double figures, led by Dodson Worthington's 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Maurice Murphy didn't score, but collected six rebounds and a game-high 14 assists.

Lafayette closes out the non-league slate on Wednesday, traveling to The Palestra to face Penn at 7 p.m.