Box Score

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Drexel stole the first win away from the Lafayette men's basketball team once again on Wednesday evening in Philadelphia, Pa., notching the game-winner with less than 20 seconds to play for a 68-67 final. The game was eerily similar to last year's battle between the same two teams that saw Lafayette lose by a 74-70 score after leading for more than 39 minutes.

Up by eight into the final media timeout, Drexel scored eight straight to tie the game at 64-64 with 41 seconds to play. Freshman Justin Jaworski, who finished with a season-high 24 points, executed through a foul and made the free throw to put the Leopards back on top, but after two Drexel free-throws pulled them back within one, a scramble on the ensuing possession led to a Williams dunk that eventually served as the game-winner. Lafayette's last-second effort was off the mark as the Dragons walked away with a 68-67 win.

Jaworski's 24 led all scorers as the rookie was 9-of-14 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range on the night. It also marked the second straight game that a Leopard freshman has recorded at least 24 points with classmate Alex Petrie netting 25 on Sunday against Saint Peter's.

Senior co-captain Matt Klinewski was the other Lafayette player in double figures, tallying 17 points in his 30 minutes of play to go along with five rebounds and four assists. Classmate Eric Stafford ripped down a team-high seven rebounds to complement his six points, three assists and a steal.

The defense was there for the Leopards throughout the contest, mixing between a variety of zone and man-to-man looks. Drexel shot just 36.7 percent from the floor and hit on seven of its 31 three-point attempts (22.6%). However, rebounding proved costly once again as a 37-27 edge on the glass led to a 19-4 advantage in second-chance points, making up for some offensive inefficiencies.

Drexel scored the first six points of the game, but Lafayette responded well early as a floater through a foul from Jaworski put the Leopards in front by an 8-6 score after five minutes and change. The Leopards took that lead through the midway point of the half, leading by as many as six on a triple by Klinewski at the 9:27 mark. Tramaine Isabell answered with a three of his own on the following trip, though, and Lafayette's edge was cut to three at 17-14 with 7:20 to play in the half.

That three was the start of a 9-0 run for the Dragons, retaking the lead at 20-17 with 4:58 left. Jaworski responded with a deep triple from the right wing to knot the game at 20-20 and the Leopards closed strong as a Petrie triple late and a defensive stop killed the first-half clock with Lafayette on top, 29-25.

The energy was on the Lafayette sideline to start the second half as a clinical up-and-under from Klinewski erupted the Leopard bench and helped the Maroon and White stretch their lead to seven at the under-16 media timeout. But Drexel's response came quickly over the next four minutes as a Kurk Lee three off an offensive board cut the lead back to one at 45-44 with 12:16 to play.

The Leopards withstood the energy shift and settled the game back down over the next five-minute stretch as a Jaworski three in the right corner off a Klinewski feed pushed the advantage back to four, 56-52, with 7:42 remaining. That swing back served Lafayette well through to the latter stages of the game as a Jaworski layup high off the glass took the contest into its final media timeout with the Leopards' lead at eight, 64-56.

But Isabell took over out of that timeout, scoring the next seven points to pull the home side within one at 64-63 and a rebounding foul gave Drexel another free throw to tie it at 64-64 with 41 seconds to play. The final minute didn't go the Leopards' way as the Dragons walked away with a 68-67 win.

Lafayette returns to the Kirby Sports Center for its next contest on Saturday, hosting Quinnipiac with tipoff set for 2 p.m.