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EASTON, Pa. ÃÆ'Æ’¢ÃÆ'¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡¬ÃÆ'¢Ã¢â€š¬Ã…â€Å" The entertainment value was unmatched in Kirby Sports Center on Saturday afternoon as the Lafayette men's basketball team put together its best shooting performance of the season to knock off American by a 90-85 score.

The Leopards seemingly didn't miss all day, knocking down 31-of-48 shots from the field, a 64.6 percent clip that was last matched in 2015. Coincidentally, that last opponent was American as well, as Lafayette converted at 64.9 percent from the floor in the 2015 Patriot League championship game, a 65-63 Leopard win.

That wasn't even the most impressive stat of the day, though, as the Maroon and White shot their best three-point percentage in program history on Saturday, knocking down 12-of-16 from beyond the arc, a 75.0 percent clip. Freshman Justin Jaworski was 5-of-6 from distance and classmate E.J. Stephens hit 4-of-5 from outside. Additionally, senior Matt Klinewski and freshman Alex Petrie each went 1-of-2, and senior Eric Stafford knocked down his lone attempt to finish it off.

"I know that people say that when you make as many shots as we did, you're probably going to win a lot of games, but I thought a couple of loose balls in the second half changed the game for us and gave us the extra possessions we needed," head coach Fran O'Hanlon said.

Five different Leopards finished in double-figure scoring, led by 27 from Petrie on 8-of-11 from the floor and 10-of-13 from the foul line. Jaworski added 17 points, while Stephens, Klinewski and Stafford rounded it out at 16, 12 and 11 points, respectively.

"I feel great about how we're playing. This happens every year. We've always played good basketball towards the end of the season," Stafford added. "Our freshmen are really figuring out what shots are going in for them and when to take them. We're all gelling at the right time. We're comfortable in our offense, so I'm very confident."

Lafayette won the rebounding battle by a 26-22 margin and assisted 16 times on its 31 made field goals, led by a career-high six helpers from Stephens to go with a career-high two rejections defensively. Jaworski added three assists and no turnovers as well, while Petrie stepped up with a pair of steals on the defensive end.

For American, freshman Sam Iorio, the Allentown, Pa. native and Parkland High School teammate of Lafayette sophomore Kyle Stout, was as-advertised, leading all scorers with a double-double of 28 points and 11 boards. Iorio went 10-for-14 from the field and 7-of-10 from three-point range on the afternoon. Sa'eed Nelson, the Patriot League's second leading scorer at 18.0 points per game, finished with 20, while Larry Motuzis and CB Diallo rounded out the major sources of offense for the Eagles with 16 and 12, respectively.

The energy began on the visiting bench as six from Motuzis and a three from Iorio capped an 11-0 start for the Eagles over the first 2:36. Lafayette settled in, though, over the next two-minute stretch as a Petrie jumper, followed by a Myles Cherry layup, made it 14-7 into the opening media timeout at 15:15 on the clock.

An 11-5 stretch into the midway point of the half for the Maroon and White brought the home side within one, 19-18. The two sides traded buckets from there as a Stephens floater over Iorio made it 30-27 in favor of American with 6:59 to play.

Nelson's jumper answered a Petrie finish at the rim with 3:26 remaining to make it 32-29, but the Leopards made their move around the two-minute mark as Stephens and Klinewski went back-to-back from distance to take a 36-34 lead with 1:36 left. Another Nelson bucket tied it at 36 and threes from either side closed out the opening stanza deadlocked at 39-39.

The offense from the first half continued at the start of the second as neither cooled off over the first four minutes with Lafayette ahead by one, 52-51. That continued to the midway point with Stafford answering an Iorio three with a triple of his own to put the Leopards in front by two, 65-63.

Stafford created space on American's Stacy Beckton, Jr. and finished with a floater from the left block to precede a Stephens triple from the right corner to put the Leopards up seven, 74-67. Then, out of a timeout, Petrie drove down the right side of the lane and finished through an Eagles defender for the and-one to put the lead at 10 with 5:36 to play.

The Leopards kept it at that margin until the 2:32 mark when Iorio's seventh three followed Nelson free throws to make it a one-possession game, 84-81. But the defense stepped up when it needed to after that as the Eagles never threatened in the final moments of a 90-85 Lafayette victory.

Prior to the game, Lafayette's seniors, including Klinewski and Stafford, as well as team manager Adam Kong, were honored for their contributions to the program over the last four seasons with a Senior Day ceremony.

"These guys have been a joy to coach. They practice as hard as anybody I've had. They're tremendous kids, tremendous in the classroom and just exemplify class," O'Hanlon said. "They're going to be successful in life and hopefully I get to coach them 4-5-6 more games."

Lafayette hits the road for its final two contests to close out the regular season over the next week. The Leopards will travel to Boston U. for a 7 p.m. meeting with the Terriers on Wednesday before finishing up with The Rivalry at Lehigh on Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. The Patriot League Tournament gets underway on Feb. 27.