EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette men's basketball team went into the break with a two-point edge on Wednesday evening at Kirby Sports Center, but Navy came out a different team, scoring 53 points in the second 20 minutes to down the Leopards by a score of 85-77.

The loss snaps a string of six straight home Patriot League victories for the Maroon and White with their last loss coming against Boston U. on Jan. 24, 2018. It moves Lafayette's overall record to 4-12, going 1-4 so far in Patriot League play, while Navy improves to 3-2 in conference play and 6-10 overall.

Cold stretches were the downfall for the Leopards on Wednesday as they went more than four minutes without a bucket midway through the second half, allowing Navy's lead to stretch to seven and putting the Mids in control to the final stretch. After shooting 40.7 percent from the field in the opening half, Navy improved to 57.1 percent in the second 20 minutes, making 16 of its 28 shoots, including 5-of-9 from three-point range in the second stanza.

Lafayette went 27-for-61 overall (44.3%) and 10-of-28 from three-point range (35.7%), but made just 4-of-13 from distance in the second half. Sophomore Justin Jaworski led all scorers with 20 points on 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, while senior co-captain Paulius Zalys and sophomore Alex Petrie chipped in with 17 and 15 points, respectively.

John Carter, Jr. answered a Jaworski triple to send the game into the first break with the Mids up four, 11-7, and Navy kept it at that margin through the 12-minute mark as Zalys' triple from the left wing made it 17-12. Then, Petrie caught fire, hitting back-to-back from distance to knot the game at 24-24 with less than seven minutes to play in the opening half.

The two sides continued to trade buckets through the latter stages of the first as Zalys' layup answered a Josiah Strong triple to move the Leopards in front by one, 31-30. Petrie's jumper and a foul shot from freshman Tyrone Perry moved the lead to its largest at four, but Greg Summers free-throws sent the game to the break with Lafayette ahead by a pair, 34-32.

The second half picked up with plenty of scoring and energy in the opening five minutes as George Kiernan's three gave Navy a short-lived three-point advantage before Perry's three from the top of the key with 15:05 left made it 45-43 in favor of the Maroon and White. Then, a 15-5 Navy run over a three-minute stretch swung momentum to the visiting bench as the Mids took the half to the 10-minute mark with a five-point edge, 60-55.

Junior Lukas Jarrett's drive-and-finish ended a stretch of more than four minutes without a bucket as the Leopards moved within six at 63-57 with 7:35 left. Lafayette got as close as three on Jaworski's three with 5:09 to play, but Navy came back with five straight to extend it back out to eight at the final media, 72-64.

That response put the dagger in the Leopards' comeback hopes as they never got closer than six from that point forward. Navy hit its free throws down the stretch and closed out the Maroon and White by a final of 85-77.

Lafayette hits the road for its next matchup, traveling to Washington, D.C. this weekend for a meeting with American on Saturday at 2 p.m.