JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Sophomore Justin Jaworski lit it up for a career-high 28 points in the season opener for the Lafayette men's basketball team on Wednesday evening at Saint Peter's, but the Peacocks were able to down the Leopards in overtime by a score of 93-86.

Lafayette had the game in control throughout as the first lead for the home side since a 5-0 early advantage didn't return until the final minute of regulation. A tough jumper through a foul from sophomore Alex Petrie with 21 seconds left forced the game into an extra frame, but Saint Peter's controlled the overtime period, jumping out to a five-point lead and never conceding to finish off a 93-86 final.

Jaworski, whose previous career-high was 24 in a loss to Drexel on Nov. 29, 2017, knocked down 6-of-11 from the field, both also career-high's, and went 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, a career-best as well. The Schwenksville, Pennsylvania native added a career-high five rebounds, an assist and a steal to round out his stat line.

Junior Kyle Stout also had a promising night for the Maroon and White, tying his career-high with 17 points on 5-of-10 from distance. Petrie rounded out the double-figure scorers with 18, going 7-of-22 from the field and 2-of-6 from deep. Additionally, junior Myles Cherry gave the Leopards a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with six points on the block.

Saint Peter's opened the game with energy and a 5-0 lead, but Lafayette settled in and countered the early burst with seven straight to take a 7-6 lead into the first media timeout. The Leopards continued to execute on the offensive end, but Saint Peter's came to life out of the 12-minute break to pull within five, 20-15.

A post bucket from Samuel Idowu got the Peacocks within a bucket at 20-17, but freshman Isaac Suffren's strong finish in transition through a foul put the Leopards back up six, 23-17. Five straight followed from Petrie to move Lafayette back up to a comfortable nine-point advantage, 28-19, with 6:43 to play in the half.

Saint Peter's made its first-half move around the four-minute mark using 10 unanswered to erase the deficit and tie it up at 32. But Lafayette responded after the tie as eight straight with back-to-back three's off the hands of Jaworski and Stout propelled the visitors into the halftime break with a seven-point advantage, 40-33.

The teams traded possessions over the first couple minutes of the second stanza before Stout and Jaworski caught fire again with another back-to-back to put the lead at 11 and force a timeout, 48-37. Saint Peter's answered with four, but another Jaworski triple had the teams trade buckets into the under-16 break with the Lafayette lead at seven, 53-46.

The game stayed within a seven-to-eight-point margin over the next seven minutes before Jaworski's three-point play and two finishes in transition from Stout and Petrie ballooned the lead to 13, 66-53. Saint Peter's responded yet again, though, as a 10-2 run beginning around the six-minute mark pulled the home side within two at 73-71 with 3:47 to play.

The Peacocks continued to play tough as a KC Ndefo dunk through a foul put the home side in front with 31 seconds to go, 78-77. Petrie's three-point play on the ensuing possession tied it at 79 and Davauhnte Turner, who led the Peacocks with 25 points on the night, took a jumper that missed at the buzzer, pushing the game to an extra frame.

The overtime period was controlled by Saint Peter's from the tip and shots just didn't fall in clutch time for the Maroon and White as two triples from Idowu and Turner built the lead to six, 89-83, with less than a minute to play. Jaworski nailed all three free throws at the 18-second mark to make it a one-bucket game again, but a Turner layup on the ensuing possession sealed it as the Leopards dropped the opener by a final of 93-86.

Lafayette remains on the road for the next two, traveling to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday to battle La Salle and on Tuesday to take on Penn. The Leopards' home opener is set for Sunday, Nov. 18 against St. Francis Brooklyn at 2 p.m.