WORCESTER, Mass. - Despite 18 points from senior Bryce Scott on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, Lafayette's rebounding and turnover woes continued on Wednesday evening in Worcester, Mass., dropping a 67-53 decision to Holy Cross.
The Leopards (5-19, 2-11 PL) were able to corral just 21 rebounds compared to 40 for the Crusaders, including 14 on the offensive side of the ball. Additionally, Lafayette committed 16 turnovers compared to 11 assists, with all five starters guilty of at least two.
Scott was the lone bright spot for the Maroon and White as the only Leopard in double-figure scoring. Classmate Zach Rufer chipped in with nine points, three rebounds and three assists, while junior Monty Boykins added eight points on the night.
Lafayette went 19-for-43 from the field (44.2%), 10-of-23 from distance (43.5%) and got to the foul line 11 times, converting on five of those opportunities (45.5%).
On the other side, all five Crusaders (10-14, 5-8 PL) finished in double-digits, led by Malachi Alexander with 14 points on 4-of-5 from three-point range. Holy Cross tallied up nine steals and shot 42.1 percent from the field (24-for-57) and 32.0 percent from three (8-for-25).
Five points for Boykins on three possessions opened up the game in Lafayette's favor with a 5-2 lead after the first three minutes. However, an answering triple, followed by foul shots from Karl Charles put the home side in front, 7-5.
Lafayette kept the Holy Cross lead within five points through the midway point of the half before a Charles finish in transition opened up a seven-point advantage for the home side with 8:56 to play in the first. Free throws from Scott at the 5:31 mark made it a three-point game at 20-17, but a Charles response with a jumper from the right elbow pushed it back to five, 22-17.
Holy Cross opened up an eight-point edge late in the half on a second-chance opportunity and the lead grew to double-digits on a Matt Husek finish under the rim. However, the Leopards responded with a late push in the final minute to head into the break down just four, 31-27.
Charles continued his production early in the second half, finishing through a Zalys foul at the 16:26 mark to put the Crusaders up eight, 37-29. That margin held through the 12-minute timeout as Holy Cross led, 44-35, with 11:45 to play.
Back-to-back triples from Alexander at the 10-minute mark expanded the Holy Cross lead to its largest of the game to that point at 12, 50-38. A Rufer triple got the edge back to nine and the Leopards went into the under-eight timeout with 7:10 on the clock, down 10, 55-45.
Holy Cross scored six of the next seven as a Robert Champion jumper from the right baseline forced a Lafayette timeout with 4:48 remaining and the lead up to 15, 61-46. The Leopards quickly evaporated that run, scoring five straight out of that timeout to cut the edge to 10 with 3:40 left, but a late run never came from the Maroon and White, falling on the road by a 67-53 final.
Next up for Lafayette is a return home on Saturday for a meeting with Navy at 2 p.m.
