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EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette men's basketball team played its best first half of the Patriot League season, scoring a conference season-high 41 points to take a 15-point lead into the break. However, Army came out a different team and pulled out a tough road win in overtime by a final score of 84-81 in Kirby Sports Center on Wednesday evening.

"I thought we competed well against a team that got healthy," head coach Fran O'Hanlon said. "Obviously it didn't turn out the way we would have liked, but I thought our competitiveness was there and, a couple rebounds, a couple shots fall, and it may be a different game."

Coming out of a first half that saw the Leopards shoot 53.6 percent from the field and hit on 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, Army proved to be the aggressor, needing 13:43 to erase the 41-26 halftime deficit and tie the game at 59 with 7:17 to play.

Kevin Ferguson finished past sophomore Matt Klinewski and freshman Paulius Zalys to give Army its first lead since the 16:33 mark of the first half with 6:20 remaining, but junior Monty Boykins answered with a reverse layup on the other end to tie it at 61. Auston Evans' drive-and-finish in transition regained the lead for the Maroon and White at 5:15 and the Leopards dodged a number of bullets over the next minute as misses from Tanner Plomb and Kyle Wilson beyond the arc kept the lead intact.

A Ferguson drive down the left side of the lane put Army in front 65-64 with 2:50 on the clock and the Black Knights' center hit one-of-two from the foul line to make it 66-64 with 2:20 remaining. Klinewski responded with authority, though, taking a strong drive down the right side to knot it at 66.

After an Army turnover, Nick Lindner's pair of free throws tied it at 70, but Plomb's floater with 13.5 seconds remaining put the Knights up 70-68. A Klinewski offensive rebound and put-back off a missed three from Lindner tied the game at 70 and Wilson's long three at the buzzer hit off the front rim to send the game to overtime.

Army took the lead early in overtime as 3-of-4 from the charity stripe gave the visitor's a 73-70 edge. After trading buckets from Klinewski and Wilson, five straight from Lindner, including a heat-check three from the left wing put the Leopards in front, 77-75. Another floater from Plomb, though, moved it back to even at 77 apiece with 1:55 to play.

Plomb and Klinewski finished on both possessions during the 44^th minute, before the game-changing play from Dylan Cox with 51 seconds remaining. The Army point guard drove down the left side and finished through a Lindner foul, making the foul shot to put the Knights ahead, 82-79.

Lafayette pulled back within one, but free throws from Wilson and a desperation three from Lindner rimmed out, ending the game with a final of 84-81.

Lafayette boasted five guys in double-figure scoring, led by 15 each from Klinewski and Lindner. Boykins, Zalys and senior Zach Rufer rounded out the group with 12, respectively.

The Leopards hung tough on the glass, on the low end of a 44-41 margin, but committed 13 turnovers to 11 assists. The Leopards went 29-for-63 from the field (46.0%) and 7-of-24 from distance (29.2%).

With the loss, the Maroon and White fall to 5-16 overall and 2-8 in conference action. Army improves to 13-10 on the year and 4-7 in Patriot League play.

Lafayette will look to snap its skid on Saturday, hosting Boston U. at 2 p.m.