ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Senior Bryce Scott lit it up from the floor with a game-high and season-high 29 points, but the Lafayette men's basketball team could not extend its season on Tuesday evening, falling at Navy in the opening round of the Patriot League Tournament, 78-70.
"Bryce was awesome," head coach Fran O'Hanlon said. "He's such a leader for us, brings such positive energy, and he's had a number of games like that. Just a terrific game for him."
Scott went 10-for-17 from the floor and 7-for 12 from three-point range on the game, adding a rebound in 37 minutes of action. Unfortunately, he was the majority of the offense as junior Monty Boykins and sophomore Matt Klinewski added 14 and 10, respectively, but no other Leopard had more than six.
"We didn't do as good of a job in rebounding as we should have," O'Hanlon added. "When we missed some shots, they got out in transition and it was hard to stop them."
Navy, leaders in the Patriot League in rebounding margin, had their way on the glass, carrying a 41-27 edge. The backcourt of Tilman Dunbar and Shawn Anderson produced 22 and 21 points each, while Tom Lacey posted a double-double with 12 points and 14 boards.
With the loss, the Leopards finish their season with an overall record of 6-24. The seventh-seeded Mids will travel to Bethlehem to battle with second-seeded Lehigh on Thursday.
Junior Nick Lindner chipped in with five assists, becoming the second player in Patriot League history to record 400 career assists as a junior. Lindner is the 18th player in league history with more than 400 helpers and the fourth to do so at Lafayette.
Lafayette started strong as the first five went to the Maroon and White after a Boykins triple from the left wing. Dunbar answered on the following possession and the Leopards led 5-3 after two minutes.
Lafayette grew its lead to four at 8-4, but seven back from the Mids put Navy in front at the 15-minute mark, 11-8. Klinewski's turnaround in the center of the lane ended the run, but Edward Alade returned the favor on the opposite side to make it 13-10 for the home side.
Navy's edge remained within less than five before free throws from Dunbar at the 7:10 mark made it a six-point game at 22-16. A Scott three in transition ended a six-minute stretch for the Leopards without a point at 3:17 to make it 26-19 in favor of the Mids. That margin slimmed as the half came to a close with Navy in front by six, 33-27.
A beautifully run backdoor cut from Scott off a feed from classmate Ben Freeland opened the second half with Lafayette continuing to surge, cutting the Navy edge to four, 33-29. However, a big three from Anderson moved the edge to eight again at 37-29 after two minutes and the game went into the first media timeout of the second half with the Mids up seven, 44-37.
Three from Zach Fong at the 13:30 mark made it eight straight for the home side, extending its lead to its largest of the night at 15, 52-37. However, Lafayette didn't let the game get away at that point as four back made it 52-41 with less than 13 minutes to play.
Scott's fifth three moved the Navy lead back under 10 at 54-45 midway through the half. Another from the senior in just seven chances pulled the Leopards within five at 57-52 with 8:35 left, forcing a Navy timeout.
Navy responded out of that break, hitting four straight to move its advantage back to nine, 61-52. That lead remained through the next media stoppage, with the Mids up by eight, 65-57.
Free throws from Boykins with 2:12 remaining kept Lafayette's hopes alive, trailing by seven, 67-60. Lafayette got within five on Scott's seventh three with 48.9 seconds left, but Navy finished off the Leopards the rest of the way, ending their season with a final of 78-70.
