Jan. 8, 2018 CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Senior co-captain Matt Klinewski of the Lafayette men's basketball team was selected as the Patriot League Player of the week, the league office announced on Monday afternoon. This is the first weekly honor for the Leopards this season.
Klinewski went 16-of-26 from the field (61.5%) and averaged 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in a pair of victories for the Maroon and White this past week. The Voorhees, N.J. native tallied 17 points, seven boards and two assists in a 60-48 win over Holy Cross on Jan. 2, and followed that up with a game-high 22 points to go along with eight rebounds in a 71-68 win over a Colgate team that was previously unbeaten in Patriot League action.
Klinewski is second in the Patriot League in scoring at 18.6 points per game this season and has scored in double figures in each of the last 17 games dating back to last season. He became the 44th player in Lafayette history to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career earlier this season and currently sits at 1,243 career points, good enough for 23rd on Lafayette's all-time scoring list.
Entering his senior season, Klinewski has also added the three-point shot as another dimension to his already extensive offensive repertoire. The senior has gone 27-for-54 from beyond the arc this season (50.0%) after entering the year with just four career three-point attempts, all off the mark.
In addition to Klinewski's honor, freshman Alex Petrie was also given honorable mention status for his record-breaking performance against Holy Cross. Petrie knocked down 7-of-8 from three-point range on his way to 29 points in the victory, breaking Lafayette's single-game freshman scoring record, originally held by Otis Ellis '89, who dropped 27 in a victory over Delaware in 1985.
Klinewski and Petrie will try to lead the Leopards to victory at home on Monday evening, hosting reigning Patriot League champion Bucknell at Kirby Sports Center, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
