LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Lafayette men's basketball team hung tough for the majority of the game, but missed free throws proved costly as the Leopards fell to Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa. by a final score of 79-67.
With the loss, the Leopards wrap up the first half of Patriot League play with a 2-6 conference record and a 5-14 mark overall. Bucknell improves to 11-9 overall and 8-1 in league action.
Senior Bryce Scott put together his second straight 17-point performance to lead the team in scoring, going 5-for-6 from beyond the arc. Sophomore Matt Klinewski, junior Monty Boykins and freshman Paulius Zalys joined Scott in double-figures with 16, 12 and 12, respectively.
Lafayette used eight steals to force 15 Bucknell turnovers, but converted just eight points off those giveaways. The Leopards went 24-for-54 from the field (44.4%) and 8-of-16 from three-point range (50.0%), tallying 15 assists on the night.
Lafayette started strong defensively as a pair of free throws from Klinewski at the 15:30 mark put the Leopards up by a 6-4 score. However, the Bison responded as a triple from D.J. MacLeay at the top of the key on the ensuing possession put Bucknell in front, 7-6.
Lafayette went back up on the next possession and held that lead through the 12-minute media timeout, up 12-9 on a post move from Klinewski. Dom Hoffman's three with 11 minutes left tied the game at 12, but Scott answered with three of his own on the left wing to make it 15-12 with 10:40 on the clock in the opening half.
Both sides continued to trade buckets through the midway point of the first as the game remained one-possession until Zalys' lay-up made it 20-16 with 7:20 to play. However, six back from the Bison gave them their first lead since 7-6 at 22-20 with 6:13 remaining.
A three from Stephen Brown with 1:30 to play moved the game to its largest margin to that point with Bucknell up five, 29-24. However, that was the last score for the home side as a free throw from senior Ben Freeland and an off-balance three from Scott as time expired put momentum on Lafayette's side, headed into the break down just one, 29-28.
The second half started as even as the first with both teams trading buckets over the first five minutes. The Bison worked a four-point lead at 36-32, but Boykins hit a three on the right wing to bring the Leopards back within one at 36-35 with 15:32 on the clock.
Three from Zach Thomas on the right wing capped off a 7-1 Bucknell run that pushed the lead to 43-36, forcing a timeout from head coach Fran O'Hanlon with 13:56 on the clock. Lafayette worked a response, though, as Scott hit a wide open corner three out of the timeout to cut the lead to four.
Chris Hass' finish through a foul with 10:08 to play moved the Bison lead back to seven, 51-44. That point margin held through the next stretch as the game moved under eight minutes with the home lead at six, 55-49.
Bucknell stretched its lead to as many as nine on free throws from MacLeay with four minutes left. However, Lafayette would not go away as Scott's left-wing three on a broken play made the lead six again, 64-58, with 3:22 on the clock.
Unfortunately, the shots would not fall down the stretch for the Leopards and Bucknell made its free throws, finishing with at 27-of-34 for the game (79.4%). Ending the game on a 15-9 run, the home side walked away with a 79-67 victory.
The Leopards have the rest of the week to get ready for their next matchup. Lafayette travels to Baltimore, Md. to battle Loyola as the Patriot League schedule swings around to the second half on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
