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EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette men's basketball team went uncharacteristically cold down the stretch on Wednesday evening at Kirby Sports Center, falling by a 69-62 margin to St. Francis Brooklyn.

"We played a good stretch in the middle of the game, but didn't execute our offense late," head coach Fran O'Hanlon said. "They turned it up and we didn't match that intensity."

Senior Nathaniel Musters was the bright spot for the Leopards, ripping down a career-high eight rebounds in defeat. The Padstow, Australia native also tied his career-high with five points on the night, draining his only two shot attempts and going 1-for-2 from the free-throw line.

"Nate's done a great job. He's always tough," junior co-captain Nick Lindner said. "He's a senior who brings it every day in practice and it's good to see him come through with some strong minutes."

Lindner, Lafayette's leading scorer coming into the game averaging 16.3 points per game, led the way with a game-high 18 points on the night, but two missed free throws on the front end of one-and-one's down the stretch halted a potential comeback.

"I work on those shots as hard as I possibly can every single day and it's frustrating when you fail, but when that happens, it motivates you even more," Lindner added. "I want those chances every single time. I wasn't nervous, wasn't scared, just didn't get the roll."

Three other Leopards joined the junior in double-figure scoring on the night as sophomore Matt Klinewski, senior Bryce Scott and junior Monty Boykins chipped in with 13, 11 and 11 points, respectively. The Leopards went 24-for-53 from the field (45.3%), but made just 2-of-13 attempts from beyond the arc (15.4%) and committed 13 turnovers compared to 15 assists.

Both offenses opened the game clicking as a Boykins drive and kick to Klinewski gave the Leopards an early 8-7 advantage after four minutes. The Terriers came back over the next four-minute stretch, heading into the 12-minute media timeout with an 18-14 edge.

A strong drive and floater from Boykins at the 9:04 mark knotted the game again at 18, but a Dagur Jonsson triple from the top of the key put the Terriers in front again by three. That three started a 7-0 run for St. Francis that took the game under the eight-minute mark with a 25-18 advantage for the visitors.

Despite an 0-for-6 start from three-point range, Klinewski's jumper from the left elbow with 4:30 on the clock pulled the Leopards back within four, 27-23. After a couple of empty possessions for either side out of the final media timeout of the half, Scott finally connected for Lafayette's first three, pushing the Leopards on top with 45 seconds to play and the Maroon and White went into the break holding a 30-29 advantage.

Five straight for the Terriers opened the second half as the Leopards looked lost on offense in their opening three possessions. A feed from Boykins to Musters finally got Lafayette on track and a Boykins finish in transition brought the Maroon and White right back, tying the game at 34 with 17:30 to play.

Seven of the next nine came off the fingertips of Lafayette players as Lindner's drive down the right side and finish through a foul moved the Leopards in front by five, 41-36. A strong drive from Boykins and finish after a crossover down the left side moved the lead to its largest at seven, 49-42.

A steal and run out crept the Terriers back to within two with 11 minutes to play and Jonsson's triple with 9:55 on the clock capped off eight straight for St. Francis, taking the lead at 50-49. Lindner's step-back jumper on the next possession gave Lafayette the edge again by one as the game of runs continued through the nine-minute mark of the second half.

Klinewski's jumper from the foul line broke a 55-55 tie with seven minutes remaining in the contest, putting the Leopards up by two. That one-possession lead remained through the final media timeout with the Leopards clinging to a three-point edge, 61-58.

A clutch triple from Yunus Hopkinson out of the break knotted the game at 61 and free throws with 2:24 left moved the Terriers into the lead by a 62-61 margin. Another bucket on a floater in the lane by Tyreek Jewell moved the edge to three, 64-61, with 1:44 to play.

Hopkinson's fifth foul put Lindner on the line with 1:30 on the clock with an opportunity to cut into the lead, but he missed the front end of the one-and-one. A Scott steal, though, gave the Leopards a chance as Lindner went back to the line, but uncharacteristically, he missed again.

That was it for the Leopards as shots continued to rim out down the stretch, falling by a 69-62 margin. Lafayette heads back to the road for its next contest on Saturday, battling with Ivy-League foe Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y. at 2 p.m.