March 12, 2010
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Picked to finish last in the Patriot League preseason poll, Lafayette exceeded all expectations, except perhaps its own, advancing to the Patriot League championship on Friday at Stabler Arena. The Leopards finished with 19 wins, the most since 2000 and registered an 11-win improvement from 2008-09.
The season came to a sudden end at Lehigh, as the No 1 seed Mountain Hawks pulled away from the third-seeded Leopards for a 74-59 win. Sophomore Ryan Willen led the way with 16 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Senior Jeff Kari chipped in 10 points and four rebounds to close out his career.
It was a four-point game (62-58) with five minutes to play when Kari made a pair of free throws. Lehigh took over from that point on, outscoring Lafayette 19-1 to close out the game. Patriot League Tournament MVP Zahir Carrington converted back-to-back dunks to give the Mountain Hawks a 68-58 lead with 2:08 left. He finished with 18 points and 10 boards.
Lafayette (19-13) could not get the offense going to start the game, shooting just 1-of-13 (8%) from three-point land. The Leopards featured balanced scoring, however, with eight players contributing at least two points each. It was fairly one-sided for Lehigh which was led by C.J. McCollum's 16 first-half points. He was held to four points in the second half. The Leopards, who played without leading scorer Jared Mintz for the final five minutes of the half, kept it close, trailing 35-29 at intermission.
Eight minutes into the second half, a Dave Buchberger three from the corner pushed Lehigh's lead to 51-42. The Leopards came roaring back with an 8-0 run. Willen's three-point play, Mike Gruner's layup and a Jim Mower (nine points) three brought Lafayette within one, 51-50, with 10:43 left.
With 5:55 left, Ben Wheeler's layup made it a six-point game. His field goal was the Leopards' last of the game with Lafayette scoring three points at the line.
Lafayette finished the night shooting a season-low 13 percent from the three-point range and 36 percent from the field. Lehigh (22-10) hit 49 percent of its shots and scored 36 points in the paint while outrebounding the Leopards by seven.
Looking forward, the Leopards will welcome back four of their five starters and 76 percent of their scoring output for the 2010-11 season including All-Patriot League Tournament selections Willen and Mower.
