Nov. 25, 2007
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EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette parlayed a 10-point halftime margin into 71-54 win over Central Connecticut State on Sunday afternoon in men's basketball action at Kirby Sports Center. Junior Andrew Brown led Lafayette with 17 points, including five three-pointers.
Seniors Bilal Abdullah and Paul Cummins were also in double digits for the Leopards, scoring 16 and 12 points, respectively. Lafayette made 12 three-pointers on the afternoon, the fourth time this season that the Leopards have hit 10 or more.
Central Connecticut opened the second half with a 10-3 run to cut the Leopards lead to 40-37 at 15:19 following a three-pointer by Tristan Blackwood. The Blue Devils again cut the lead to three (43-39) at the 12-minute mark.
The Leopards went on an 18-6 run over the next 6:30. Senior Ted Detmer converted on both free-throw opportunities and Abdullah, Cummins and Brown all sank three's to give Lafayette a 61-45 lead with 4:59 remaining.
Following a pair of free throws from sophomore Michael Gruner and Abdullah, the Leopards (3-2) took their largest lead of the game, 65-48, at 2:31. Abdullah finished with five rebounds and was 6-of-7 from the line.
Lafayette led for the first 10 minutes of the game before Central Connecticut's Marcus Palmer converted both from the line, giving the Blue Devils (1-4) the 16-14 lead at 11:04. CCSU's final lead of the game came with 8:24 left in the first half on a layup by Ken Horton who finished with 10 points.
Abdullah regained the lead for the Leopards with a jumper on the next possession and Lafayette maintained the lead for the rest of the game. The Leopards stretched the margin to as many as 12 points in the first half. A layup by Gruner and consecutive three-pointers by Brown gave Lafayette the 32-20 advantage with just over three minutes left. Brown and Cummins each had three three-pointers in the first half as Lafayette shot 52 percent from the floor.
Joe Seymore scored 13 points to lead Central Connecticut and Shemik Thompson followed with 12 points as one of the three Blue Devil players in double figures. Lafayette held CCSU's leading scorer, Blackwood, to three points. Blackwood came into the game averaging nearly 16 points per game.
CCSU out-rebounded Lafayette 36-33 and Abdullah and Detmer had five rebounds apiece. Horton pulled down eight rebounds, including four offensive rebounds.
Lafayette continues its five-game homestand, hosting Penn on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
• CCSU's 27 first half points were the fewest scored by a Lafayette opponent in any half this season.
• Lafayette led at the half (37-27) for the first time this year.
• Cummins had a season-high 12 points, including a season-best four three-pointers.
• The Leopards' six blocks surpassed the team's previous season-high of three, which they had reached in two previous games.
• Lafayette shot 49 percent (24-of-49) from the field, the highest percentage this season.
• The Leopards shot 84.6 percent (11-for-13) from the charity stripe, also their highest percentage of the year.
• The 17-point win was the first game this season not decided by 4-10 points.
