Box Score

BOSTON, Mass. - The Lafayette men's basketball team played one of its best halves of the season to take a 41-40 lead into the break at Boston U. on Sunday afternoon. However, the Leopards couldn't finish the job in the second half, falling by a 75-58 score.

Lafayette managed just 17 points in the second 20 minutes and went almost nine minutes before scoring its first bucket, digging a 10-point hole at 53-43. The Leopards worked it back to within six, but the Terriers answered with 22 of the final 33 points to close it out.

The 41-point first half was the best first 20 minutes for the Maroon and White since scoring 47 in the first against Moravian on Dec. 19, and was also Lafayette's first halftime lead since a Jan. 5 win over Army. The loss drops the Leopards to 6-17 overall and 2-10 in conference play, while Boston U. improves to 13-11 and 8-4 in Patriot League action.

Senior captain Nick Lindner led three Leopards in double-figure scoring with 13 points to go along with three assists and a steal. Sophomore Paulius Zalys added 11 points and eight boards, while freshman Kyle Stout also chipped in with 11 points to go along with four rebounds.

On the other side, the Terriers put forth a balanced effort with six players managing eight points or more. Eric Johnson and Will Goff combined to go 8-for-14 from beyond the arc for 12 points apiece and Max Mahoney added 12 of his own on 6-of-7 from the field. Eric Fanning finished one rebound shy of a double-double, registering 11 points and nine boards.

The game started with a ton of energy on both ends of the floor as the sides traded buckets over the first four minutes with the Terriers up by a pair, 6-4. Boston U. extended its lead to 10-4, but the Leopards rolled off six straight to tie it at 10 and trailed by just two, 15-13, into the under-12 media timeout.

A post bucket from junior Matt Klinewski at the 11:18 mark gave Lafayette its first lead of the game at 16-15 and Lindner found freshman Myles Cherry in transition to send the game under the eight-minute mark with the Leopards still on top, 22-21. The game remained at one possession through the four-minute mark as a post bucket from Zalys made it 31-29 Lafayette with 3:43 left in the half.

Johnson's three with 37 seconds left tied it at 38, but Stout came right back with a triple of his own to put the Leopards on top, 41-38. Justin Alston was able to get to the line on Boston U.'s final possession, knocking down both free throws to send the game into the break with Lafayette on top, 41-40.

Boston U. took control of the early part of the second half as a post bucket from Alston followed five Fanning free-throws to give the Terriers a 47-41 lead with 15:50 to play. The Leopards' scoring drought continued through the 12-minute timeout as a Mahoney post bucket made it 53-41 in favor of the home side with 11:42 left.

A Zalys jumper finally got the Leopards on the board in the second half at the 11:11 mark and that sparked a 6-0 spurt that made it a 53-47 game with 7:28 remaining. However, Boston U. came right back with a 9-2 response to push its lead out to 13, 62-49, with less than five minutes to play.

That answer was the turning point in the game as the Terriers stretched their advantage to as many as 20 over the final stretch. The second-half hole proved too much to overcome as the buzzer sounded on a 75-58 defeat.

The Leopards return home for three of their next four games, hosting Holy Cross on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest at Kirby Sports Center.