Feb. 25, 2006
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette will hold the fifth seed heading into next weekend's Patriot League Tournament after falling short by a 77-67 score to American in the Patriot League regular-season finale on Saturday at Kirby Sports Center.
Lafayette, which moved to 11-16 overall and 5-9 in conference action, solidified the fifth seed, while American (11-16, PL 7-7) claimed the fourth seed. The teams will meet again in the quarterfinal round of tournament play next Friday at 5:30 p.m. Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion will provide the backdrop, as the No. 1 seed will serve as one of two host sites.
Prior to this afternoon's tip-off, Lafayette honored co-captains Andrei Capusan and Pat Betley and their families in traditional Senior Day ceremonies.
American opened the game hot, riding the back of guard Andre Ingram, who drilled three triples in the first 4:16 to put the Eagles up 13-8 early on. The first-half lead swelled to as many as 13, 31-18, with just over seven minutes to play. Capusan quickly returned with a layin on the ensuing possession, jumpstarting a 10-3 Lafayette run that ended with a pair of Capusan free throws. The spurt whittled the deficit to six, 34-28, with under four minutes left in the half. The Leopards trailed 40-34 at the break.
The Eagles scored six of the first nine points out of the gate in the second, jumping out to a 50-37 lead with 17 minutes on the clock. Lafayette responded, cutting the Eagles' lead to 50-43 on a layup from sophomore forward Everest Schmidt with 13:23 remaining. Over the next 3:20, the Leopards got within six, but would get no closer than that.
Lafayette kept hope alive down the stretch, however, as sophomore guard Bilal Abdullah drilled back-to-back outside buckets to make it 74-66 with 42 ticks left. American then converted 3-of-4 from the stripe to hold on for the win.
The Leopards shot 33 percent (21-of-64) from the field, while American hit for 51 percent (25-of-49). The Eagles relied heavily on the three-pointer all game long, as they shot 63 percent (10-of-16) from downtown.
Although Abdullah's defense held Ingram to nine points after the intermission, he still managed to finish with a game-high 26 points. Abdullah matched a career-high 21 points to lead the Leopards, while Capusan registered 17 in his final game at Kirby Sports Center.
Sophomore guard Matt Betley also tied a career-high with 10 boards, snaring five on each end. American edged Lafayette 40-36 off the glass.
Game Notes:
-American's win tied the two teams at 16 wins apiece in the all-time series.
-Both teams registered 12 points in the paint, 11 points off turnovers and 11 assists. Capusan and freshman guard Andrew Brown handed out a team-high three each.
-In his final game in Easton, Pa., Pat Betley finished with eight points in 20 minutes of action.
-Lafayette forced 20 American turnovers, while committing 14 of their own.
