HAMILTON, N.Y. – The Lafayette men's basketball team used production from everywhere on Wednesday night in Hamilton, N.Y., registering five double-figure scorers, including a double-double from senior co-captain Myles Cherry, to knock off defending champion and preseason Patriot League favorite Colgate for the second time this season, 80-78.
 
The Leopards have handed the Raiders their only two losses of the conference campaign to this point, dropping the league leaders, ranked 15^th in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25, to 7-2 in conference action and 16-6 overall. Lafayette improved to 5-4 in Patriot League play with the win and now sit at 13-7 overall this winter, ending Colgate's 16-game home winning streak, the seventh-longest in the nation.
 
An offensive first half saw the Leopards enter the halftime break with a 43-40 advantage on 10 points apiece from freshman Leo O'Boyle and junior Justin Jaworski. Colgate took over the lead five minutes into the second stanza and it went back-and-forth down the stretch, entering the final minute tied at 78-78.
 
Out of a timeout, senior co-captain Lukas Jarrett found Cherry on a high-low play for the final bucket of the contest. The Leopards locked down defensively, seeing rim-outs on layup opportunities for Colgate's Jordan Burns and Rapolas Ivanauskas close it out.
 
Cherry's 13 points and 14 rebounds made up his sixth double-double of the season and eighth of his career to power a balanced attack for the Maroon and White. Junior E.J. Stephens finished with 17 points, while Jaworski, sophomore Tyrone Perry and O'Boyle added 15, 14 and 12 points, respectively.   
 
Both sides came out firing as the Leopards matched three early triples from the Raiders with a pair of their own and Cherry's post bucket sent the half under the 16-minute mark at 11-8 in favor of the home side. Following a pair of Ivanauskas free throws, the next five went Lafayette's way as Cherry's seventh three of the year put the momentum on the visiting side with a 16-13 advantage.
 
The Maroon and White continued to light it up from deep, hitting seven of their first 13 from distance with the lead growing as high as seven before Ivanauskas' finish through a foul made it 31-26 with 7:20 left in the opening 20. Colgate chipped away over the final minutes, but Lafayette still kept control into the intermission, up three, 43-40.
 
O'Boyle's second triple of the night opened the second stanza, but Colgate remained tough, pulling within one at 53-52 less than five minutes in. The sides exchanged leads over the next four minutes before Stephens' jumper at the end of the shot clock made it a three-point edge, 62-59.
 
Jaworski's three in the left corner moved it back to a two-possession game at 67-62. But Burns got hot with back-to-back triples helping a Raiders surge that took the game to the final media break knotted at 72-72.
 
The next two minutes were filled with offensive execution as a Will Rayman free throw tied it into the final stretch at 78-78. Cherry's bucket and a pair of stops followed for the 80-78 victory.
 
The Maroon and White return to Kirby Sports Center for two of their next three contests, hosting American in their next tilt on Saturday at 2 p.m. for Alzheimer's Awareness Day.