Jan. 8, 2011
Box Score
WORCESTER, Mass. - Lafayette opened Patriot League play with a hard-fought 70-65 loss at Holy Cross on Saturday.
Tony Johnson's stat line stood out when the Leopards' go-to scorers struggled to get going. The 6-0 sophomore guard had two blocks, including one of 6-9 Andrew Keister, and added five assists and seven rebounds along with seven points and no turnovers. The Leopards' big three (Jared Mintz, Jim Mower and Ryan Willen) were held to 26 points as Darion Benbow led the way with 13 followed by Nick Petkovich with 11 and Mintz with 10.
With 42 seconds left in the game, Devin Brown hit a three-pointer that gave Holy Cross a 68-65 lead. Brown, who was coming off a 33-point game on Wednesday, was 1-of-12 before connecting on the crucial three ball. Fourteen seconds later, Benbow answered with a layup to make it 68-66.
After Brown made 1-of-2 free throw attempts, Willen attempted a game-tying three with nine seconds left on the clock. He drew contact on the shot behind the arc but no whistle from the officiating crew, ending the game. Lafayette was tagged with 14 fouls in the second half, putting the host Crusaders in the double bonus with 8:17 left in the game.
In the opening half, Lafayette (5-11, 0-1) trailed until the 7:47 mark when Benbow hit two free throws to tie the game for the first time 18-18. Petkovich's eight first-half points included a pair of three's in the final six minutes as Lafayette led 33-28 at halftime.
In the second half, the Leopards opened up with a 13-5 run that included 11 points in a row. Willen started it off with a three followed by a Mower three-pointer. Johnson had a steal and fast-break bucket, and the run ended on a Petkovich shot from downtown with Lafayette leading 46-33 with 14:34 remaining.
Holy Cross (2-13, 1-0) went on an 18-4 run spurred by Andrew Keister's (15 points, 8 reb.) three-point play. Andrew Beinert, who had a game-high 21 points, made a layup to tie the game at 56-56 with 5:30 left. The game was tied three more times in the final five minutes. The last Lafayette lead, 63-62, came with 2:27 left on Mintz free throws.
Mintz, who shot 8-for-10 at the line, was just 1-of-7 from the floor. Lafayette shot 75 percent from the line but just 38 percent (21-of-56). Lafayette outrebounded Holy Cross 21-13 in the first half, but the Crusaders won the battle in the second half, grabbing 26 rebounds to the Leopards' 12. Holy Cross, a 66 percent free throw shooting team entering the game, made 15-of-19 (79 percent). Lafayette committed a season-low seven turnovers while forcing 11.
Lafayette hosts Colgate at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Kirby Sports Center.
