Nov. 16, 2011
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
EASTON, Pa. - Backed by four players in double figures and 37 attempts from the free throw line, Lafayette defeated St. Francis N.Y. 79-73 on Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center. Senior Ryan Willen led the charge for the Leopards, scoring 20 points on 5-8 shooting from the field and 10-12 from the stripe.
Joining Willen in double digits were Rob Delaney, (14 points and six rebounds), Jim Mower (13) and Joey Ptasinski (12). Ptasinski's points came in his first career start, as the freshman connected on three of his four attempts from beyond the arc.
With the scored locked at 23-23, Lafayette went on a 12-1 run in the closing moments of the first half. A pair of free throws from Seth Hinrichs out of the media timeout put Lafayette up 25-23 with 3:46 to play in the half. On the next possession, Willen was whistled for a blocking foul and P.J. Santavenere converted one of his two free throw attempts.
Nick Petkovich drew a foul on a straightaway three-pointer and hit two free throws, extending the lead to three. After a missed jumper by St. Francis, J.D. Pelham corralled an offensive rebound and fed Ptasinski in the wing, who drained the triple. Petkovich was fouled on a defensive rebound and made both free throws with the Leopards in the double-bonus. The run was capped by an old fashioned three-point play from Ptasinski after he was fouled on a left-handed driving layup. After the free throw, Lafayette led 35-24 with 1:45 in the half and took a nine-point lead into the break.
St. Francis came out of halftime and scored the first 14 points of the half, punctuated by a jumper from Kevin Douglas at 14:23, giving the Terriers a 39-35 lead. The spurt, officially 16-0, spanned 7:04.
Lafayette regained the lead 40-39 on a three-ball from Ptasinski with 13:11 showing on the clock. The next 10 minutes featured two ties and 15 lead changes, with the largest difference being St. Francis' five point lead at 10:31, its largest of the contest.
During that stretch, St. Francis' Ben Mockford drained a three with 7:25 left, giving the visitors a one-point lead. After two free throws from Stefan Perunicic, Mower tied the game with a triple of his own. Then, on the other end, Mockford hit a jumper and Ptasinski answered with a trey for Lafayette. Mockford responded with another field goal for the Terriers and Delaney drilled a contested three off a handoff from Dan Trist, giving Lafayette a 62-60 lead with 5:46 remaining.
Trailing 66-65 with less than four minutes remaining, Lafayette took control for good. Willen drove hard to his left from the top of the key, drew contact from his defender and muscled a shot up and in. The bucket and free throw put the Leopards ahead by two with 3:43 to play. A layup by Travis Nichols after Delaney made a jumper to put LC up four, pulled the Terriers within one, but that was the closest they would get, with 1:50 to play. Lafayette went 10-12 from the stripe over the final 1:33 to secure the win.
Lafayette returns to the court on Saturday evening when it hosts Wagner. Opening tip from Kirby Sports Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Notes:
Lafayette had four players in double figures for the first time since Feb. 26, 2011 vs. American - a double-overtime game.
The last time Lafayette made 30 free throws in a game was Feb 18. 2007 vs. Lehigh - a 75-71 OT victory in Easton.
