Jan. 2, 2005
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Sean Knitter's offensive rebound and putback with 26.4 seconds left gave Lafayette a one-point lead, and Columbia's Dragutin Kravic missed a three-pointer with four seconds remaining as the Leopards opened 2005 with a 65-62 win over Columbia on Sunday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center.
A layup by junior Andrei Capusan with four minutes left was Lafayette's first field goal since Marcus Harley gave the Leopards a 51-43 lead, their biggest of the game, with 13:18 on the clock. Capusan's bucket knotted the score at 55-55.
A Columbia basket by John Baumann was followed by a pair of free throws from Harley and Jamaal Hilliard that put the Leopards ahead, 60-57, with 1:49 left. Kravic, who scored a game-high 15 points, forced another tie with his fifth three-pointer of the game with 1:30 left.
Jamaal Douglas hit one of two free throws for Lafayette (4-7), and Jeremiah Boswell knocked down both of his foul shots for Columbia (7-4) to give the Lions a one-point lead with 1:03 remaining. With the shot clock running down, Matt Betley missed but Knitter corralled the board and converted for the Leopards.
Kravic had a clean look at the game-winning shot, but it didn't go down and Hilliard claimed the rebound. The sophomore, who entered the game shooting 92.6 percent from the line, hit both free throws with 2.2 seconds left for a 65-62 lead and Boswell's half-court toss was no good.
Harley's fall-away jumper at 13:18 capped a 32-11 Lafayette run that spanned halftime and covered more than 12 minutes. The Leopards trailed 32-19 with 5:52 left in the first half, but three-pointers from Bilal Abdullah, Knitter and Betley brought them within five before their final possession of the half.
After Lafayette forced a shot clock violation with 2.8 seconds left, freshman Ted Detmer caught a pass at mid-court, dribbled twice, and hit a three at the buzzer to cut the Columbia lead to 36-34 at intermission.
Harley continued Lafayette's surge early in the second half, hitting two three-pointers within 21 seconds in the middle of a 10-0 spurt.
Harley, Abdullah and Knitter all scored 11 points to lead a balanced Lafayette outfit. Douglas pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. The Leopards equaled a season-high with seven blocked shots, as Douglas and Knitter both swatted two.
Kravic was 5-of-10 from the field, all from beyond the arc, for his 15 points. Boswell scored 14 and Tito Hill had 10 for Columbia.
Lafayette will look for its fourth win in five games on Tuesday, Jan. 4 at St. Francis (N.Y.).
