Nov. 10, 2006
Box Score
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Three players scored in double figures led by senior captain Jamaal Hilliard's 16-point effort to propel Lafayette men's basketball to a 76-70 win at Wagner on Friday night at Spiro Sports Center. The game was the season opener for both teams.
Sophomore point guard Andrew Brown chipped in with 15 points, all on three-pointers, and five assists while Bilal Abdullah finished with 14 points. For the game, Lafayette hit 10 three-pointers and dished out assists on 18 of its 24 field goals.
"We came out like the healthy, veteran team like I hoped we would," said head coach Fran O'Hanlon. "I think if we would have lost that lead last year, we wouldn't have been able to rebound. I'm proud of the way we fought back and the resiliency we showed tonight against a very athletic Wagner team."
The Leopards came ready to play, opening with a 19-2 advantage just four minutes into the game. Brown had the hot hand, dialing up long distance three times in the opening run while Abdullah and Matt Betley each added their own three-pointer.
Lafayette's game was also working at the defensive end of the court, as the Leopards enticed Wagner into five turnovers in the first five minutes and forced Wagner coach Mike Deane to call two timeouts in the span. For the game, the Lafayette defense forced 18 turnovers.
Lafayette extended its first-half margin to as many as 19 points in the opening session (22-3), but Wagner was able to ratchet up the defense and cut the halftime advantage to 10 points at 39-29.
When the game moved to the second half, Wagner put together a 13-2 run through the first four and a half minutes to take its first lead (42-41) since the opening basket of the game. The Seahawks' Joey Mundweiler, who finished with seven three-pointers, capped the run with a three-pointer at 15:41.
Hilliard helped quell the Wagner run on the Leopards' next possession, nailing a three-pointer from the wing to give Lafayette the 44-42 lead at 14:45. From that point on, it was a back-and-forth game.
The Leopards' set play out of a media timeout under the five-minute mark put them up 65-59 when Brown came off a screen to hit a three-ball from the corner. Freshman Andre Hines set the screen that freed up Brown for his fourth three-pointer of the night. Another Brown three-pointer at 3:10 helped Lafayette extend its lead back to 10 points, this time off an assist from Betley.
Lafayette led by 13 points at 1:56 when Hilliard hit two free throws. The game was not in doubt for the final two minutes, but Wagner did close the final margin to six points.
For the game, Lafayette shot 82 percent from the free throw line (18-of-22) and 50 percent from the floor while holding Wagner to just 37 percent from the floor. Wagner won the rebounding battle 41-30 led by eight boards from Justin Drummond. Junior Everest Schmidt and Betley each grabbed seven boards for the Leopards.
Lafayette returns to action on Monday in the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament. Lafayette will face Indiana at Conseco Field House in Indianapolis. The game will be televised lived nationally at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.
NOTES: Andrew Brown (G), Jamaal Hilliard (G), Bilal Abdullah (G), Matt Betley (F) and Everest Schmidt (F) were in the starting five for the Leopards. Head coach Fran O'Hanlon used nine players in the game.
Schmidt and Betley spent much of the second half on the bench with foul trouble. Betley picked up his fourth foul near the 12-minute mark on an offensive foul call.
