Feb. 12, 2011
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Lafayette's second-half comeback fell a couple of buckets short in a 57-52 loss to Navy on a cold shooting night on Saturday.
The story of the night for Lafayette was its three-point shooting. Coming off a game in which the Leopards hit a season-high 13 three-pointers, Lafayette shot a chilly 2-for-22 from long distance, its worst shooting effort of the season.
Despite the sub-par three-point shooting performance and a 15-point halftime deficit, Lafayette still had a chance to win the game in the final minutes. Statistically, Jared Mintz led the Leopards with 17 points while Tony Johnson pulled down eight boards.
"We showed a lot of heart getting back into that game, but we just didn't play the way we needed to in the first half," said Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon.
In the first half, Lafayette (10-15, 5-5) couldn't get things going, shooting 1-for-11 from three-point land while missing the first eight three's before Levi Giese finally broke through at the six-minute mark.
Navy (9-17, 4-6) ripped off a 12-0 run at 5:33, including 10 straight from Jordan Sugars to lead. Sugars hurt the Leopards again right before the halftime buzzer when he nailed a deep three to give the Mids a 36-21 advantage. The Leopards didn't help their own cause, committing 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes against the Navy man-to-man defense. Lafayette committed five turnovers in the second half while forcing nine steals.
In the second half Rob Delaney, who finished with 10 points, put back a layup at the 17:33 mark. Lafayette went the next seven minutes without a field goal, scoring instead on eight free throws. Mintz snapped the funk from the field, scoring three straight buckets in the lane, two of which came from the deft passing hand of Ben Wheeler who finished with five assists. The final of Mintz's shots cut the Navy margin to eight (45-37) with 8:12 left in the game.
The Leopards went on another six minutes making shots only from the stripe until Jim Mower hit a three-pointer from the corner to again bring Lafayette within seven, 52-45, with 2:53 left on the clock.
Mintz struck again with a three-point play on a feed from Ryan Willen at 1:56. Lafayette finally cut the deficit to two, 52-50, on a Delaney layup with 59 seconds left.
Navy called a timeout and the Leopards forced a missed three-pointer by J.J. Avila with 44 seconds remaining, but Jordan Sugars' immediate putback again made it a two-possession game.
Johnson answered with a driving layup with 33 seconds left. The Leopards pressured Navy after the inbounds pass, forcing Avila to handle the ball instead of immediately fouling. Mintz and Delaney double-teamed the Navy freshman center who coughed it up. Delaney dove on the floor, gained possession and called a timeout.
On offense, the Leopards were able to get off a good shot. Mower drove to the hoop and drew some contact. His jumper from the lane was high off the glass, and the Leopards' fouled O.J. Avworo on the rebound. He made 1-of-2, leaving the Leopards trailing 55-52 with 20 seconds remaining.
On offense Johnson handled the ball and had an open drive to the hope that rimmed off, forcing Lafayette to foul Avworo again. He made both foul shots and ended the game. The teams combined for just 11 field goals and in the second half along with 39 free throws. Lafayette, now in a three-way tie with Holy Cross and Lehigh for third place in the Patriot League standings, hosts first-place Bucknell on Wednesday at 7 p.m. matchup.
