Dec. 5, 2007

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PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Senior Matt Betley recorded his second double-double of the season and was one of five Lafayette players who scored in double figures, but Rutgers pulled away in the second half for an 90-79 win on Wednesday night at the RAC.

Junior Andrew Brown led the Leopards (5-3) with 17 points and was joined by four others in double digits, including Betley's 13 points and 10 rebounds. Everest Schmidt chipped in with a career-high 14 points while Bilal Abdullah (13) and Paul Cummins (12) also reached double digits.

After jumping out to an 11-5 advantage to start the game, Rutgers came roaring back spurred by its perimeter shooting. The Scarlet Knights hit four straight three-pointers, two by Corey Chandler and two by J.R. Inman to lead 19-15 with 12:22 left. Those buckets were part of a 13-5 run by Rutgers. Lafayette answered with three's from Cummins and Betley to trail 24-21 with 10:58 left in the half.

As the half wore one, Rutgers stretched its lead to as many as 10 points (42-32) with two and a half minutes remaining. The Scarlet Knights, who came into the game shooting 27 percent (30-113) from three-point land, were 8-of-13 from behind the arc in the first half and finished the game at a 44 percent clip. Lafayette ended the half with seven straight points, a three by Cummins, layup by Betley and Brown's jumper before the buzzer closed the gap to 42-39.

When the second half opened, Lafayette regained the lead at 18:42 (43-42), the team's first lead since 13:32 mark in the first. Rutgers put together a 13-4 over the next five minutes and it concluded with Anthony Farmer's trey to put the Scarlet Knights ahead 54-45 at 15:16. Three's from Cummins and Abdullah and a jumper from Michael Gruner cut the lead to five at 11:22 (58-53).

Rutgers continued its hot shooting in the second half, expanding the margin to 11 points (68-57) at 7:25 on a Hamaday Ndiaye defensive rebound and slam dunk putback. Fouled on the play, Ndaiye went to the line and converted the three-point play.

With just over five minutes remaining, Abdullah made two free throws to pull the Leopards to within five of tying the game (68-63). A jumper by Brown and a layup by Betley preceded Abdullah's turn at the line. From there, Chandler dropped in six points and upped the Rutgers' lead to 83-72 at 4:13.

Lafayette cut the margin to seven four times in the last five minutes of play on pair of three's by Brown and one from Cummins. The Scarlet Knights sealed the victory, going 8-for-8 from the line in the final minutes while finishing 19-of-21 (91 percent) for the game.

Inman scored a game-high 26 points and added nine rebounds while joining four other Scarlet Knights in double digits.

Lafayette continues its eight-game road swing on Saturday at Columbia. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.

GAME NOTES:
• Lafayette did a solid job on the boards, as the rebounding numbers were even at 36 apiece. Lafayette was out-rebounded 22-18 in the second half after holding an 18-14 advantage in the first half.
• This is the second time this season the Leopards have had five players in double figures (Brown 17, Schmidt 14, Betley 13, Abdullah 13, Cummins 12).
• Lafayette's four-point halftime deficit was the smallest the Leopards have faced this season.