EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette men's basketball team closed the book on its 2018-19 season on Tuesday evening at Kirby Sports Center, falling in the Patriot League Tournament First Round to Holy Cross by a 79-74 score.

Sophomores Alex Petrie and Justin Jaworski were outstanding with 23 and 22 points, respectively, but Holy Cross' Jehyve Floyd and Jacob Grandison had stellar nights of their own to put the visitors on top. Floyd netted 24 points on 9-of-13 from the floor, while Grandison tallied 22 points and 16 rebounds in his best game of the season.

The loss finishes the year with an overall record of 10-20, going 7-11 in Patriot League action. Holy Cross moves on to face Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania on Thursday in the quarterfinal round.

Junior Lukas Jarrett registered a double-double of his own for the Maroon and White, scoring 10 points and adding 12 rebounds. That being said, the Leopards would have loved for 13 on the scoreboard from Jarrett as his three from the corner to tie it with less than three seconds remaining went halfway down, but could not find the bottom of the net in defeat.

Lafayette shot 46.4 percent from the floor (26-of-56) and 9-of-22 from three-point range (40.9%). Holy Cross was impressive on the offensive end in the second half, missing just 11 of its 29 shots from the field, a 62.1 percent mark with 50 of its 79 points coming from inside the painted area.

The game was the finale for seniors Auston Evans and Paulius Zalys, who will graduate this spring with degrees in Government & Law and Economics, respectively. Zalys posted eight points, three assists and three rebounds in his final game.

The sides took their time to settle in offensively as Jarrett's finish through a foul at the end of the shot clock brought the Leopards even at 7-7 four minutes into the contest. Lafayette went on an 8-0 run with three's from Petrie and Jaworski to answer a 12-8 deficit and take over the lead, but a Grandison layup at 11:05 took the game to its second break at 16-14.

The game remained in a stalemate as five from the Crusaders' Austin Butler answered a three from Petrie and the ninth and 10^th points in the opening half from Jaworski to tie it at 21 with 7:25 to play. Six straight from the Maroon and White pushed their lead to five with just over four minutes remaining, but the Crusaders responded with a 6-0 run and it was even from there as the buzzer sounded for intermission with the score tied at 35-35.

The second half started much the same as the first, but back-to-back buckets from Kyle Copeland and Butler forced a Lafayette timeout with less than 15 minutes to go and the deficit at five, 49-44. Holy Cross kept its lead at that margin to the midway point as a Grandison put-back made the edge six, 55-49, with 11:09 to play.

The Crusaders kept the Leopards at bay through the eight-minute mark before a 7-2 spurt kicked off by an E.J. Stephens three from the left wing took the game under seven to play at 62-57. The Holy Cross lead stayed at five before a Jarrett finish through a foul followed a Jaworski triple to make it a one-point game, 74-73, with 52 seconds left.

Petrie answered a Caleb Green jumper at the 20-second mark and Grandison made 1-of-2 from the line to give the Leopards a chance to tie on the final possession. Petrie's three hit front iron and Jarrett's try off an offensive rebound was halfway down, but popped out. Floyd's free throws after the foul on the rebound officially sealed the fate, ending the year with a 79-74 defeat.