Jan. 3, 2010

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EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette had four players in double figures led by sophomore Jim Mower's 21 points in a 77-62 win against Penn on Sunday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center.

Mower was 6-for-10 from three-point range and leads the team with 37 three-pointers for the season. Ryan Willen finished the afternoon with 12 points and Lafayette's leading scorer, Jared Mintz, ended with 10 as did senior Jeff Kari. Willen also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

In the first half, Penn led by as many as six points (11-5) at 13:47 on a Dan Monckton layup. Lafayette (8-6) took the lead six minutes later and never relinquished it when Mower hit a three to put Lafayette up 19-17.

On the final possession of the first half, Mintz missed a jumper in the lane, but Michael Gruner corralled the rebound in the air and tipped it in at the buzzer to give Lafayette a 39-30 halftime lead. Zack Rosen, who finished the game with a career-high 30 points, led the way for the Quakers in the first half with 17.

In the second session, Lafayette led by as many as 18 on two occasions, the final time (55-37) on Tony Johnson's jumper at 13:42.

Penn (0-10) would not go away, putting together a 17-6 spurt over the next five minutes, culminating with a three-pointer by Rosen at 8:40 to cut the lead to 59-52. Penn trimmed the lead to seven on two more occasions, both on foul shots by Rosen who ended up 10-for-12 at the line.

Penn was forced to foul Lafayette five times in the last two and a half minutes which allowed the Leopards to extend the final to 77-62. Lafayette hit 7-of-8 from the line down the stretch.

Rosen score 30 of Penn's 62 points and Jack Eggleston chipped in with 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Leopards who beat Penn for the second time in the last three seasons, but just the fifth time in the 43-game series.

Lafayette will play its final non-conference game of the 2009-10 season on Wednesday when the Leopards host Columbia at 7 p.m.