Dec. 30, 2016
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EASTON, Pa. - Junior Matt Klinewski poured in a career-high 33 points, but the Lafayette men's basketball team couldn't find an answer for Colgate freshman Will Rayman as the Leopards opened Patriot League play with an 85-75 defeat on Friday evening at Kirby Sports Center.
Rayman set a Colgate single-game freshman scoring record with 34 points for the Raiders, going 11-of-20 from the field, 5-of-11 from three and 7-for-8 from the foul line. The rookie scored 20 of those points before the halftime break, making eight of his first nine shots in the game.
"We shot 50 percent, so you hope that if you shoot 50 percent in a game, you have a chance to win, but we didn't get many stops and there were a couple of crucial plays that didn't go our way," head coach Fran O'Hanlon said. "Rayman had a couple of wide-open shots early and that got him started and then it was flood gates."
Klinewski was an unstoppable force on the low block, while senior captain Nick Lindner also helped out with 20 points of his own to go along with eight assists. However, that third scoring option wasn't present as freshmen Hunter Janacek and Kyle Stout were the only others with more than one bucket in the game, finishing with nine and eight points, respectively.
"Seeing the ball go in the first couple of shots was a big key, but my teammates during practice all tell me to keep shooting and are always behind me," Klinewski added. "The ball movement was helpful today and I've just got to keep knocking down open looks."
Lafayette's offense was executed well as the Leopards went 30-for-59 from the floor (50.8%) and 10-of-29 from three-point range (34.5%). However, defense and rebounding were the downfalls once again as the Raiders made 53.6 percent of their shots (30-of-56) and won the glass by a 36-26 margin.
Both sides began the game strong, trading baskets over the first five minutes with Colgate holding a 12-10 advantage. Rayman was the majority of the offense, scoring 14 of the Raiders' first 20 points as the visitors took a 20-18 lead into the under-12 media timeout.
Colgate's hot-shooting continued through the midway point of the half as two more triples from Rayman gave him 20 points and the visitors a 29-22 lead with 7:33 left. An Eric Stafford three and a Klinewski drive-and-finish brought the Leopards back within one possession, where they held the game through the final media timeout of the half, down 37-34 with 3:04 to play.
The Raiders started the final stretch of the first half on an 8-2 run, pushing their lead to their largest of the first stanza at nine, 45-36. But the Leopards closed with the final four points on a Klinewski bucket and Lindner free throws to head into the break down five, 45-40.
It was all Colgate to open the second stanza as a Rayman lay-up, his 24th and 25th points of the night, capped off an 11-2 run over the first three minutes to stretch the lead to 14, 56-42. Lafayette settled down, though, as it came through with a couple of defensive stops to get the edge back to single digits at the 11:47 mark, down nine, 62-53.
A Janacek triple cut the edge to six at 7:31, but the Raiders kept that from becoming a run, taking a 69-61 advantage into the under-eight timeout. That lead stood through the final stretch as Colgate answered every Lafayette attempt at a comeback, finishing it off with a final of 85-75.
The loss drops Lafayette to 4-8 overall and 0-1 in league play, while Colgate improves to 3-11 and 1-0 in conference action. The Leopards continue league opening weekend on Monday, traveling to Baltimore, Md. to take on Loyola at 7:30 p.m.
