BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Junior Justin Jaworski got back on track with a game-high 20 points to power the Lafayette men's basketball team past Lehigh on the road on Saturday afternoon, 74-56, in the first 2019-20 edition of The Rivalry.
 
The Leopards controlled the game for all but the opening 2:14, stretching an eight-point edge at halftime to 16 with a 10-2 run over the first four minutes of the second stanza to put it out of reach early. The win improves Lafayette to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in Patriot League action, while Lehigh falls to 5-15 on the year and 2-6 in conference play.
 
Jaworski made just 3-of-10 from distance, but went 5-for-7 on two-point field goals for his 20 points to go along with a pair of rebounds, assists and steals. Freshman Leo O'Boyle, who earned his first career start in the contest, was effective, scoring 12 points on 4-of-8 from the floor with five rebounds and three assists to just one turnover in 23 minutes of run. Senior co-captain Lukas Jarrett was the other double-figure scorer with 11 points (4-of-6 from the field) and classmate Kyle Stout gave solid minutes as well with seven points and six boards in his 19:20 of action.
 
While Lafayette has held the upper hand in an all-time series with its rival by a 144-89 margin, the Mountain Hawks have gotten the better of it recently as Saturday's win snaps an eight-game slide for the Maroon and White in The Rivalry. The Leopards' last win prior to this contest came on Feb. 22, 2015, 63-61, in Bethlehem.
 
Jaworski looked determined to find the bottom of the net early and often with seven of Lafayette's first 10 points, pushing the Maroon and White to a 10-5 lead after four minutes. The Leopards kept control through the next 10 minutes as Stout's acrobatic put-back in transition put the edge at 20-16 into the latter stages of the opening half.
 
Jaworski's second triple at the 3:08 mark put the Maroon and White lead at seven, 27-20, into the homestretch. Lehigh closed within a pair on Reed Fenton's triple at 1:56, but the Leopards countered with a 6-0 spurt over the final 1:07 to take a 33-25 advantage into the intermission.
 
Lafayette carried over its momentum on the other side of the break as pretty ball movement from sophomore Sean Good to classmate Tyrone Perry to Jarrett for a triple forced a Lehigh timeout at the end of a 7-0 run, extending the lead to 13, 40-27. The Leopards kept cooking through the 14-minute mark as back-to-back threes from O'Boyle and Jaworski forced another home stoppage with the game at a 20-point margin, 53-33.
 
The Maroon and White kept their foot on the gas through the eight-minute mark as junior. E.J. Stephens found Good in transition for a bucket to make it 65-42. Eight straight from the Mountain Hawks pulled the home side within 17 at the under-four break, but 13 was as tight as they could make it with Lafayette closing out a 74-56 victory.
 
Next up for the Maroon and White is a road trip to Hamilton, N.Y. on Wednesday, eyeing the season sweep of top-of-the-table Colgate at 7 p.m.