December 31, 2014

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Senior Joey Ptasinski went 4-of-6 from three to lead a high-powered Lafayette men's basketball team past Army in the Patriot League opener at Christl Arena, 92-78.

Ptasinski was one of four Leopards in double-figures led by classmate Seth Hinrichs with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Senior Dan Trist notched his second double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and junior Bryce Scott chipped in with 10 points offensively.

"I thought we got off to a good start in the first half. We knew they would make their runs, but we had a good second half as well and that set the tone for the rest of the game," head coach Fran O'Hanlon said. "We really played well together as a team and just made shots. We executed well and had the right people taking the right shots."

The win marks Lafayette's first victory over Army since Feb. 8, 2012, breaking a four-game losing streak to the Knights, and leaves the Leopards at 1-0 in the league standings and 9-3 overall.

As a team, the Maroon and White went 33-of-61 from the floor (54.1%) and 10-for-17 from three-point range (58.8%). Additionally, the Leopards won the rebounding battle for just the fourth time this season, 36-34.

A pair of triples from Army's Tanner Plomb moved Army out to an early 6-2 lead after the first couple minutes, but a strong three-point drive from Hinrichs at the 17:49 mark brought the Leopards within one at 6-5 and a Ptasinski triple minutes later knotted the game at 11 into the opening media timeout.

Sophomore Nick Lindner's feed to Hinrichs in transition gave Lafayette its first lead of the game at the 14:29 mark, up 13-11. Lafayette continued that momentum over the next few minutes as a strip and run-out from Scott put the Maroon and White up five, 18-13 with 12:20 to play in the half.

The run continued through the 12-minute media timeout as a Scott triple in the left corner made it 13 straight for Lafayette and an 11-point lead at 24-13. Army finally ended the drought with a free throw at the 10:18 mark, making it 24-14 Leopards midway through the first.

Ptasinski's third three of the half with nine minutes on the clock gave the Maroon and White their largest lead, up 15, 29-14. A pair of Army buckets in the lane finally got the Knights going offensively, cutting the Lafayette lead to seven with 6:39 to play in the opening session.

Kyle Wilson finished on an up-and-under at the 4:20 mark to make the lead just four at 34-30 and, following two free throws from Hinrichs, a triple from Nathan Dodge on the right wing made it a one-score game with 3:34 left in the half, 36-33.

The Leopards responded, though, over the final few minutes as a coast-to-coast effort from Lindner pushed the edge back out to 10 with under a minute remaining and the Maroon and White went into the intermission up 43-33.

Lafayette picked up with the momentum from the first half when it opened the second extending its lead to 14 at 51-37 two minutes out of the break. Ptasinski's fourth three at the top of the key and a smooth drive-and-finish from Hinrichs at the 16:23 mark edged the advantage to 17, Lafayette's largest of the game to that point.

An Army three in the corner at the 14-minute mark cut the lead to 10 again at 56-46, with the half playing out eerily similar to the first-half proceedings. However, a jumper from Hinrichs and a triple from sophomore Monty Boykins worked it back to 13 with 12:35 to play and a Zach Rufer shot from distance at 10:05 made it 15 again at 68-53.

Scott's three at the 9:14 mark, Lafayette's 10^th of the game, continued to pull the game in the Leopards' favor, and a drive and pull-up from Hinrichs with 6:40 left pushed it to 20 at 77-57. Two strong drives from Lindner and Boykins over the next couple of minutes took the wind out of the Army comeback sails, advancing the edge to 23 at 84-61 with 4:30 to play.

Army surged over the final minutes, cutting the lead to 13 with 30.9 seconds remaining, but Lafayette worked the clock down the stretch and left Christl Arena with a 92-78 win.

The Leopards continue the opening week of Patriot League action on Saturday, hosting Navy inside Kirby Sports Center at 2 p.m.