Jan. 12, 2011

Box Score | Photo Gallery

EASTON, Pa. - At the 11:07 mark in the first half, senior co-captain Jared Mintz scored his 1,000th career point on a 12-foot jumper. Needing eight points to become the 36th player in Lafayette history to achieve the mark, Mintz scored the first six points of the game and finished with 21 to lead Lafayette to a 75-64 win over Colgate on Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center.

Mintz had 16 first-half points, shooting 7-of-10 from the floor while guiding Lafayette to a 32-28 advantage at intermission. Three other Leopards joined Mintz in double figures, including Jim Mower who netted 17 points, all in the second half. Darion Benbow (15) tied a career high and and Tony Johnson (10) hit double figures for the fourth time this season. Johnson's three-pointer at the 10:33 in the first half gave Lafayette a lead it did not relinquish.

Lafayette (6-11, 1-1) opened the second half with a 20-6 run over four minutes. Mintz started the span on a three-point play at 19:07. Mower scored 13 points during the spurt, including two from the line following a technical foul on the bench. The run ended on a Mintz jumper at the 12-minute mark with Lafayette holding a 54-34 lead.

Colgate (1-14, 0-2) cut the margin to single digits twice in the final minute and half, but four Leopards went 7-of-8 from the charity stripe in the closing minute to seal the win.

Yaw Gyawu led the Raiders with 18 points while Sterling Melville chipped in 13. The Leopards shot 79 percent from the line for the game and outrebounded Colgate 36-31.

Lafayette hosts Navy on Saturday at 1 p.m.

NOTES:

Ryan Willen played just 15 minutes, leaving the game after the 15-minute mark in the second half immediately after scoring a layup and taking hit to the head from a defender.