WORCESTER, Mass. – The Lafayette men's basketball team controlled play throughout on Saturday afternoon in Worcester, Massachusetts, extending a five-point lead at halftime to a 72-62 advantage at the final buzzer in a win over Holy Cross.
 
Lafayette's top-three active scorers did their part as junior E.J. Stephens, senior co-captain Myles Cherry and sophomore Tyrone Perry netted 18, 16 and 15 points, respectively for the Maroon and White. Cherry chipped in eight rebounds for a Leopards side that dominated on the backboards, up 42-28 on the glass and 16-8 in second-chance points.
 
As a unit, the Leopards shot 47.5 percent from the field on 28-of-59 and made 11-of-14 from the foul line (78.6%). Holy Cross' Joe Pridgen led all scorers with 25 points on the afternoon, but Lafayette held the Crusaders to 39.7 percent from the field overall (23-of-58) and just 3-of-21 from distance (14.3%).
 
The win moves Lafayette to 16-9 on the year and 8-6 in Patriot League action, while Holy Cross drops to 3-23 overall and 2-12 in conference play.
 
The two sides played even through the first eight minutes as Cherry's bucket on the block put Lafayette in front, 15-13. Holy Cross tied it at 15 on the next possession, but six back from the Leopards forced a Crusader timeout at the 8:49 mark with the lead at six, 21-15.
 
Back-to-back threes from senior Kyle Stout kept the Leopard lead at six around the five-minute mark and the advantage stretched as high as 10 with less than three minutes left. Consecutive possessions with above-the-rim finishes from the Crusaders, though, moved it back to a five-point game into the intermission with the Lafayette lead at 35-30.
 
Freshman Leo O'Boyle's run-out dunk and Stephens' triple from the right wing put Lafayette on the front foot in the second half, leading 44-35 with less than 16 minutes remaining. Five straight from Cherry through the 14-minute mark helped the Leopards grow the lead, leading 53-39 with 12:17 to play.
 
The Maroon and White kept control to the final stretch as Perry's backdoor cut for a pair off an inbounds play made it 67-52 with less than four minutes to go. The comeback for Holy Cross was never there as Lafayette saw out the final minutes on a 72-62 final.
 
The Leopards return home for their next two contests, hosting Boston U. on Wednesday and Loyola next Sunday at Kirby Sports Center.