BALTIMORE, Md. - The Lafayette men's basketball team cut a 21-point lead to just one on multiple occasions down the stretch, but the Leopards couldn't find the final push in the closing minutes, falling to Loyola in Baltimore, Md. by an 84-77 final.
Senior Zach Rufer's chance at an open three in the right corner to tie it with 41.8 seconds left fell short, but a missed front end of a one-and-one gave the Leopards life. Classmate Bryce Scott knocked down a long jumper and two made foul shots on the home side brought the game to the 27-second mark with Lafayette down three, 80-77.
Scott's drive down the left side was blocked and Loyola hit all six of its free throws in the final 30 seconds of the game to walk away with the victory. Lafayette falls to 5-15 on the year and 2-7 in Patriot League play, while Loyola improves to 6-14 overall and 5-4 in conference action.
The Leopards were without the services of their junior point guard and leading scorer Nick Lindner for the final 13:20 of the game, leaving with a left ankle injury. Junior Monty Boykins picked up the slack, leading three Lafayette players in double-figures with 18 points, joined by Scott with 15 and sophomore Matt Klinewski with 14, all in the second half.
Lafayette went 28-of-63 from the field (44.4%) and 8-for-22 from long range (36.4%). The Leopards racked up 17 assists compared to 10 turnovers and won the rebounding battle, 38-29.
On the other side, Tyler Hubbard led four Greyhound players with double-digit scoring, tallying all 17 of his points in the first half on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes. Loyola committed just four turnovers on the night, getting its 84 points off 28-of-58 shooting from the field (48.3%) and 6-of-12 efficiency from distance (50.0%).
Boykins was the Lafayette offense over the first three minutes of the game, hitting his first two open three's to bring the Leopards within one at 7-6. Senior Ben Freeland's post bucket with 16:20 on the clock gave the Maroon and White their first lead, 8-7.
That lead held through the midway point of the opening half, as Scott's run-out and finish through two defenders put the Leopards up six, 19-13, with nine minutes to play in the first. However, three straight three's from Hubbard put Loyola back in front, 23-19, with 7:12 remaining.
A triple from Boykins in the corner at the 5:15 mark finally ended a 16-0 Loyola run, cutting the home lead to seven, 29-22. However, Loyola stayed on the offensive as the fourth outside shot from Hubbard in six tries pushed the lead to 11, 35-24, with 3:37 to play.
The Loyola lead only grew over the final stages of the first half as the Hounds went into the locker room holding a 46-30 advantage.
The second half started as much of the same before Lafayette began to lock down on the defensive end. A three from Scott and the first points in the post from Klinewski cut the lead to 14 at 53-39 with 15:16 to play.
The Leopards continued to gradually cut into the Loyola advantage, entering the 12-minute media timeout down 57-45. Free throws from Auston Evans out of the break made it a 10-point game and another drive from the freshman forced a Loyola timeout with 10:49 on the clock and the lead at eight, 57-49.
After the Hounds pushed it back to 11, a three through a foul from Boykins at the 8:09 mark made it seven, 66-59. The Leopards pulled to within six a number of times over the next three minutes, but couldn't seem to get over that hump.
Boykins' drive at the 3:40 mark finally got Lafayette within five at 76-71 and Klinewski's finish in transition made it a one-possession game at 76-73 with 2:59 on the clock. Free throws from the sophomore cut the lead to one at 76-75, but Lafayette's comeback bid fell short in the final minutes.
Lafayette will look to snap its four-game skid and get rolling at home with three straight inside Kirby Sports Center coming up. The Leopards return to the floor on Wednesday, hosting Army at 7 p.m.
