November 30, 2014

TEANECK, N.J. - Senior Dan Trist recorded a points-rebounds double-double of 18 and 13, respectively, to power the Lafayette men's basketball team to an 82-61 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson in Teaneck, N.J. on Sunday afternoon.

Trist led a pair of Leopards in double-figure scoring as junior Bryce Scott picked up a season-best 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. Freshman Matt Klinewski, sophomore Michael Hoffman and classmate Monty Boykins chipped in with eight points apiece in a balanced Lafayette attack.

"Overall, everyone contributed, we did a much better job defensively, and I think we wore them down a little bit throughout the second half," head coach Fran O'Hanlon said. "After our last game, I also thought we did a much better job on the glass."

The Leopards won the battle on the boards for just the second time this season, 41-39, and six blocks, including three from senior captain Seth Hinrichs helped protect the rim. For FDU, Matt MacDonald paced the Knights with 15 points, while Mustafaa Jones tallied 14 and Darian Anderson added 13.

The game opened as an up-and-down affair with both teams looking to get out and run on the fast break. Scott drained a three in the corner and added a mid-range jumper for five of the first seven points to draw even with the Knights at seven apiece after the first five minutes.

The contest remained deadlocked through the 12-minute timeout before a pair of free throws from Klinewski put the Maroon and White in front, 17-15, with just over 10 minutes left in the first. A secondary transition finish from Boykins under the nine-minute mark edged the lead to six and was the midway point of a 12-2 run that pushed the advantage to 10 at 27-17 with 7:32 to play in the half.

The Knights responded with a run of their own as an elbow jumper from Darian Anderson cut the Leopards' lead to five at 31-25 with less than five to play and the Maroon and White moved into the halftime break with a nine-point edge, 46-37.

FDU came out of the break strong, scoring seven of the first nine points to cut the lead to four at 48-44 with 18 minutes to play. However, a strong and-one finish from Scott pushed it back to seven at 51-44 less than a minute later and a three from senior Joey Ptasinski at the 16:44 mark upped the advantage to double-figures at 54-44.

A Klinewski baseline jumper and a finish from sophomore Nick Lindner in the lane plus a foul shot, stretched the Lafayette lead to its largest of the contest to that point at 14, 63-49, with 13 minutes remaining. A jumper from Jones at the 12:01 mark ended 10 straight for the Leopards, who took a 68-51 edge into the 12-minute media timeout.

The Maroon and White continued to control the pace of play throughout the midway point of the second half, extending the lead to 21 with less than eight minutes to play on a finish at the rim from Hoffman. The Leopards never wavered throughout the final minutes, outlasting the Knights by a final score of 82-61.

Next up for Lafayette is a return home for three straight contests inside the Kirby Sports Center. The Leopards host Wagner on Saturday at 2 p.m. before Sacred Heart comes to Easton on Monday at 7 p.m. and the Maroon and White finish the homestand with Susquehanna on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m.