EASTON, Pa. – Junior Justin Jaworski became the 46^th 1,000-point scorer in program history for the Lafayette men's basketball team on Wednesday evening as his 19 points led the Leopards to an 82-64 victory over Holy Cross at Kirby Sports Center.
 
The win was much-needed as it was the first for the Leopards in Patriot League play after dropping the first two contests of the conference season. Lafayette improves to 9-5 overall, while Holy Cross falls to 1-2 in Patriot League action and 2-14 on the year.
 
Jaworski, who needed nine points for 1,000 coming into the night, took care of that in the opening half, scoring 13 of his 19 in the opening 20 minutes. The junior co-captain finished with five assists and four steals as well, both team-bests.
 
The game was back-and-forth throughout the first half with the Crusaders making a run into the break to cut a 10-point Lafayette lead to three at 42-39 into halftime. But Lafayette came out determined to not let this one get away, gradually expanding its lead throughout the second stanza and leading by as many as 22 with 4:19 to go.
 
Junior E.J. Stephens once again provided plenty of firepower off the bench, matching Jaworski's total with 19 points on the night to accompany six boards. Stephens went 7-for-14 from the floor and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
 
Senior Myles Cherry added 13 points, with 11 coming in the second half, as his work with classmate Lukas Jarrett and junior Dylan Hastings on the low block gave the Crusaders fits all night long. Hastings provided one of his most productive outings of the year, swatting a career-high five blocks, the most by a Lafayette player this season, and adding five rebounds with four points, an assist and a steal in 22 minutes for a +14 stat line, the second-most behind +20 from Stephens.
 
The victory also served as a bit of revenge for the Maroon and White against a team that finished their season a year ago at Kirby. Holy Cross knocked out Lafayette in the opening round of the Patriot League Tournament on March 5, 2019 by a 79-74 score.
 
Six points from Jaworski in the first 1:30 got the Leopards going with an early 6-2 advantage, but Holy Cross' Ryan Wade countered with back-to-back triples from the left corner to keep the Crusaders within a bucket through the first five minutes. The sides traded scores over the next four minutes, but Stephens' three from the left corner kept the Maroon and White ahead at the midway point of the half, 19-15.
 
Jaworski's 1,000^th point on a jumper from the right wing preceded a Tyrone Perry three as the Leopard lead grew to seven at the nine-minute mark, 26-19. The Crusaders worked it back within four on a Joe Pridgen put-back, but a floater in the lane from Hastings stretched it to 10, 37-27, with 4:24 to play.
 
The Crusaders slowly cut into the Lafayette advantage before halftime, carrying momentum into the break. A 12-5 run over the final four minutes took the game to intermission with the Maroon and White on top, 42-39.
 
Hastings started the second half strong with a dunk, block and assist on the first three trips to make it 48-39 with 17:01 left. Lafayette's offense continued to click as Holy Cross went cold, using a right-wing three from Perry to extend the advantage to 18, 67-49, with 11:16 to play.
 
Six straight out of the break from the visitors put some pressure on the Leopards, but Stephens swung the crowd back with an emphatic above-the-rim finish over a pair of Crusader defenders at the eight-minute mark to make it 69-55. That served as the final dagger with Lafayette able to see out the final minutes with relative ease, winning by a final of 82-64.
 
The Maroon and White head back on the road this weekend for their next contest, traveling to Baltimore to face off with Loyola on Saturday at 1 p.m.