EASTON, Pa. – Fairleigh Dickinson wouldn't go away against the Lafayette men's basketball team on Sunday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center, but the Leopards made the plays necessary down the stretch to outlast the comeback and pick up an 80-75 victory.
 
The win marks the second straight for the Maroon and White, taking 2-of-3 on the homestand, with a victory over Penn on Tuesday (86-75) and a loss to unbeaten Delaware on Nov. 16 (81-73). The Leopards close November with a 4-2 record overall, their best start since a 4-2 November in the 2014-15 campaign. That year, Lafayette won seven of its first nine and finished with a Patriot League title, the most recent for the program.
 
Junior Justin Jaworski was a big part of the victory on Sunday, finishing one shy of his career-high with 27 points on 7-of-12 from the field. Jaworski went 11-for-11 from the foul line, one of just seven players in Kirby Sports Center history to knock down all of their free-throws in a single-game with at least 11 attempts.
 
Senior Myles Cherry proved his worth on the block once again with his third double-double of the season, coupling 10 rebounds with 15 points. Sophomore Tyrone Perry knocked down a career-high three triples en route to tying a career-best in back-to-back games with another 12-point effort. Junior E.J. Stephens rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11, going 5-for-6 from the field, including a long jumper out of an inbounds play with less than a minute remaining to keep the Knights at bay,  
 
The 80-point performance was the second straight for the Patriot League's top offense, now averaging 74.7 points per outing. The Leopards also showed off their league-leading field-goal percentage on Sunday, going 29-of-57 from the floor, a 50.9 percent clip.
 
Lafayette started with the first eight points over the opening two minutes, before FDU used a 14-3 run to take control through the 15-minute mark, up 14-11. The Knights held that advantage through the 10-minute mark, before three-straight three-point plays, capped by a triple in transition from senior Kyle Stout forced a timeout from the visitors with Lafayette back on top, 24-19.
 
The Knights regained the lead on a jumper from Daniel Rodriguez at the 6:02 mark, but Jaworski's streak-extending three (54 straight games with a triple, the second-longest in the nation) took the half to the final media timeout with Lafayette ahead, 31-28. That play kept momentum on the Leopards' sideline through to the break as Stephens' jumper through a foul with 2.1 seconds on the clock sent the Maroon and White to intermission with a 42-36 advantage.
 
Lafayette controlled the second half from the get-go as back-to-back buckets in the opening minute-plus forced an early FDU timeout with the lead up to 10, 46-36. The Leopards kept it around the 10-point margin through the midway point as an Isaac Suffren finish at the end of the shot clock made it 58-48 with 9:36 to play.
 
Xzavier Malone-Key's deep three from the left wing forced a Leopard timeout at the 4:13 mark with the lead down to eight, 70-62. An Elyjiah Williams triple pulled the visitors all the way back within three with just over a minute to play, but Stephens' jumper from the left elbow moved it back to a four-point game and kept the comeback from materializing. Cherry's dunk in transition was the final dagger with 8 seconds on the clock as the time ran out on an 80-75 final.
 
The Leopards head into the Thanksgiving break having to wait nine days until their next contest, traveling to Philadelphia on Dec. 3 for a meeting with Saint Joseph's. Tip-off with the Hawks is set for 7 p.m.