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EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette men’s basketball team came out hot, racing to a 15-point first-half lead. However, Navy settled in and the Leopards couldn’t make key plays down the stretch in a 74-68 defeat on Saturday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center.

After going 7-for-14 from three-point range and winning the rebounding battle, 20-18, over the first 20 minutes, Lafayette made just 2-of-9 from distance in the second half and finished on the low end of a 39-29 Navy edge on the glass. Senior Zach Rufer led three Leopards in double-figure scoring with 15 points, while co-captains Nick Lindner and Bryce Scott chipped in with 13 and 12, respectively.

“Like a number of our games, there’s a period where we competed hard and played well, but there’s also those periods where they go on runs and spurts and we don’t answer,” head coach Fran O’Hanlon said. “We needed to execute better at the end. In a close game, they executed and we didn’t.”

Down three with less than two minutes to play, Lafayette had a couple of chances to tie the game. Three-point opportunities from Lindner and freshman Paulius Zalys both rimmed out and the Leopards were forced to foul as Navy hit its free throws down the stretch.

The Leopards’ losing streak moves to nine games as they fall to 5-20 on the season and 2-12 in league play. Second-place Navy moves within one game of Bucknell at 9-5 in Patriot League action and 18-9 on the year.

Tilman Dunbar tallied a game-high 21 points for the Mids, while Will Kelly added a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Shawn Anderson finished with 10 points and five boards. Lafayette took care of the basketball, committing just seven turnovers, its lowest mark since Jan. 2, a seven-turnover effort against Loyola.

The Maroon and White came out hot on both ends of the floor as back-to-back threes following a stop at the 16-minute mark put the Leopards in front by nine, 12-3. Another stop and a top-of-the-key triple from Lindner took the game into the first media timeout with 14:53 on the clock and the Leopards with a 15-3 advantage.

The Leopards’ defense continued its solid play through the 12-minute mark as another pair of threes from Scott, his second and third of the game, pushed the advantage to 14, 21-7. Navy pulled back within 10 at 24-14, but a Zalys finish through a foul down the left side gave Lafayette its response with 8:48 to play in the half and a 27-14 lead.

The Mids again cut the edge to 10 with 4:35 to play as Dunbar went through Matt Klinewski contact down the right side to make it 34-24. Navy’s run continued through the latter stages of the opening half as the game went to intermission with Lafayette clinging to a 35-30 advantage.

The second half started as the first half ended, with both sides trading buckets through the first four minutes with Lafayette in front, 43-37. A steal and run-out from Lindner and Rufer pushed the edge to eight, but Anderson’s transition finish the other way took the game under the 15-minute mark at 45-40 in favor of the Leopards.

Kelly free throws with 10:52 remaining brought Navy within three at 50-47 and Dunbar’s weave-and-finish through traffic after a stop made it a one-point game with less than 10 minutes to play. The Mids took their first lead of the game at the 9:27 mark on a transition lay-up down the right side to make it 51-50 in favor of the visitors.

Klinewski’s baseline jumper put the Leopards back on top out of a Lafayette timeout and free throws from the sophomore put the lead at two, 53-51, with 8:20 remaining. A Dunbar three from the left wing on the next possession, though, continued to swing the lead between the two sides with the Mids up, 54-53.

The game remained within one-possession on either side through the five-minute mark as 1-for-2 from the line by Dunbar knotted the game at 57 with 4:27 to play. Anderson’s three from the left wing with 3:40 remaining put Navy up four, 62-58.

Lindner and Zalys missed chances from outside with less than two minutes left and the Leopards down three, 65-62, forcing the fouling to begin with 40 seconds to play and a four-point deficit. The Mids went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe during the final stretch, icing the game with a 74-68 final.

Lafayette hits the road for a pair of games next week, traveling to American and Lehigh on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.