Nov. 25, 2006
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Junior forward Matt Betley equaled a career-best 18 points for the second straight game, but it was not enough for the Lafayette men's basketball team to stave off a physical Miami outfit on Saturday afternoon at the BankUnited Center, as the Leopards fell 98-66.
After appeared to be a back-and-forth battle over the opening three minutes, a scrappy Lafayette (1-5) club hung with Miami thanks to a baseline triple from senior guard Jamaal Hilliard that was sandwiched by buckets from junior forward Everest Schmidt and classmate Bilal Abdullah. However, the Hurricanes countered with a 24-8 run to blow open a 29-15 lead at the 11:09 mark.
Freshman forward Jesper Andersson buried a three-pointer to cut the deficit to eight, 31-23 two minutes later, but Miami quickly pushed the lead back to double-digits for the remainder of the contest.
Miami led by as many as 34 on two separate occasions late in the second half, despite cooling off to shoot 43 percent (13-of-30) after the break. The Hurricanes shot 52 percent (35-of-68) on the afternoon, while Lafayette shot 42 percent (23-of-55) from the field.
Betley's 18 paced Lafayette, including six straight points in a stretch of two minutes early in the second stanza, while junior guard Paul Cummins drained a season-high five triples for 15 points. He was one three-pointer shy of his career-high six.
Freshman forward Andre Hines matched a career-high eight points, while Abdullah added seven. Junior forward Ted Detmer, who started the second half for head coach Fran O'Hanlon's club, led all players with eight boards to match his career-high.
O'Hanlon and his team look forward to returning to the confines of Kirby Sports Center for just the second time this season, as the Leopards host Princeton on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Game Notes:
-Lafayette is now 1-4 all-time against Miami, as the team's lone win over the Hurricanes came on Jan. 14, 1991 in Coral Gables, Fla.
-Two Lafayette players fouled out (Jamaal Hilliard, Everest Schmidt), while the officiating crew whistled 30 overall for Lafayette and 21 on the Hurricanes.
-With just under seven minutes to play in the game, the BankUnited house lights went black, forcing the teams to continue play in dimmed, emergency lighting.
-All 13 Lafayette players clocked minutes with 10 of them scoring at least a pair of points.
