January 10, 2015

BOSTON, Mass. - Junior Zach Rufer drove down the left baseline and finished at the rim with two seconds to play to give the Lafayette men's basketball team a thrilling 63-62 victory over Boston U. on Saturday afternoon in Boston, Mass.

Trailing by six at the break, The Leopards slowly closed the gap throughout a second half that featured one tie and five lead changes. Lafayette took its first lead of the game at the 5:04 mark, but a tip-in from the Terriers gave Lafayette's chances of winning a blow with seven seconds left, down one. Instead, Hinrichs worked it to Rufer in the corner, who finished with two seconds on the clock and the Terriers' inbounds pass went awry to give Lafayette the victory.

"Obviously it was all coaching on the last play," head coach Fran O'Hanlon joked. "It was a great win for us. I thought we came out in the second half ready to play and beat a very good basketball team today. Rufer hit a huge layup at the end of the game. We wanted to spread them out and try to have someone make a play and he did just that."

The victory moves the Maroon and White to 10-5 on the year and 2-2 in Patriot League action. Senior Dan Trist was a force on the block, tallying a game-high 24 points to go along with 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Additionally, senior captain Seth Hinrichs added 12 points and seven boards, while sophomore Nick Lindner racked up 10 assists on the afternoon.

Lafayette overcame a tough shooting day from beyond the arc, going just 5-for-20 on the day (25.0%), by winning the turnover battle, 12-9, and draining 28-of-61 overall from the field (45.9%). Boston U. won the battle on the glass, 35-32, and was led by Cedric Hankerson with 18 points and five boards.

The Leopards opened the game with a pair of turnovers, but solid play on the defensive end kept them from getting into a hole. A Hinrichs jumper from the right elbow tallied the first points for the Maroon and White at the 17:30 mark, but back-to-back triples made it 10-4 after the first three minutes.

Lafayette showed resiliency as two free throws from junior Bryce Scott finished off six straight to knot it at 10 with 14:38 to play in the half. However, a Hankerson drive made it nine-in-a-row for the Terriers over the next three minutes before a triple from Scott on the left wing ended the drought, making it 19-13 with 11:37 left in the first.

Boston's six-point edge would remain through the next four-minute session with the hosts holding a 23-17 advantage at the 7:58 mark. Working an edge on the offensive glass, the Terriers moved their lead out to as many as 11 at 30-19 with 4:37 left, but a triple from Scott and a Trist bucket in transition cut the edge to six at 30-24 at the three-minute mark.

With both teams exchanging a pair of buckets over the final minutes, that margin would stand going into the halftime break, with the Leopards trailing, 34-28, marking the third straight game that the Maroon and White went into the break down six.

Four of the first five points went Lafayette's way to open the second as the Leopards cut the lead to one possession at 35-32 after two minutes. With 15:58 to play, senior Joey Ptasinski found an opening in the left corner and drained his first outside shot of the night to bring the Maroon and White within one at 38-37, forcing a Boston U. timeout.

Seven straight from the Terriers in response opened up an eight-point edge again, but a Trist bucket stopped the run, making it 45-39 Boston U. with just over 12 minutes remaining. The teams continued to exchange buckets over the next few minutes with Lafayette going into the eight-minute media timeout still down six at 54-48.

Ptasinski's triple from the right corner with less than seven on the clock brought the Maroon and White within one possession at 54-51 and a Trist jumper from the elbow made it 54-53 with 5:50 remaining. Lindner kept the Leopards' momentum going as he fed Trist on the block at the five-minute mark to give Lafayette its first lead of the game at 57-56.

Both teams traded buckets down the stretch as a Trist lay-in on the block made it 61-60 with two minutes remaining. Still 61-60 and with less than a minute to play, Scott put up a triple from the left wing that clanked off the rim to the far side. Trist went up and snared the all-important offensive rebound to give Lafayette a fresh clock with 37.8 seconds left.

Out of a Lafayette timeout, the Terriers elected to foul Trist with 29.7 seconds on the clock, putting him to the line for one-and-one situation. The senior came up short on the first free throw and Boston U. took over, calling its own timeout at the 24.4-second mark, down one.

With seven seconds left, Hankerson drove down the lane and missed the layup to the far side. However, Justin Alston hit the glass, tipping it in for the 62-61 edge. After a Leopards' timeout, the ball moved in to Hinrichs, who found Rufer in the left corner. The junior drove baseline and finished at the rim to put the Maroon and White in front, 63-62, with two seconds to play. A long pass from the Terriers was off the mark, allowing Lafayette to walk out of Agganis Arena with a 63-62 victory.

Lafayette looks to keep the momentum rolling as it returns home on Wednesday for a matchup with Loyola at 7 p.m.