EASTON, Pa. – Junior E.J. Stephens simply couldn't be stopped for the Lafayette men's basketball team on Wednesday evening at Kirby Sports Center as he went for a career-high 27 points to lead the Leopards past second-place Boston U., 61-59.
 
Stephens missed just three shots in the first half, almost eclipsing his career-high in the first 20 minutes with 18 points at the break on 7-of-10 from the field. The Plantation, Florida native added nine in the second stanza, including the eventual game-winner with 34 seconds to play.
 
Up 59-57 with less than a minute remaining, sophomore Tyrone Perry's steal set up a tough, off-balance floater from Stephens over Boston U. 6-10 forward Sukhmail Mathon down the right side of the lane to make it a four-point game late. Boston U. scored on the ensuing possession and got the ball back via a steal with 11 seconds to go, but Walter Whyte's winning effort from three-point range at the top of the key went in and out as the buzzer sounded.
 
The Leopards did most of their damage in the first half, shooting a sizzling 64.0 percent from the floor on their way to a 43-27 halftime advantage. Boston U. clawed its way back throughout the second stanza, but never got closer than the final score as the Lafayette defense made up for just 18 points on the offensive end in the second frame.
 
Senior co-captain Myles Cherry was the only other Leopard to score in double figures with 10 points. Cherry added four assists and five rebounds, moving within 10 of becoming the 27^th Leopard in program history with 500 career boards. Freshman Neal Quinn also provided a spark on the block, dishing out a game-high five assists to go with five boards, four points and a block in a season-high 21 minutes of action.
 
Boston U. falls to 16-12 in defeat and 10-5 in conference action, while the Leopards improve to 17-9 with the victory, sitting at 9-6 in Patriot League play. That conference mark places the Maroon and White alone in fourth place, one game behind Boston U. and American for the second spot.
 
Lafayette forced the action over the first four minutes as a baseline hook shot from junior Dylan Hastings found the bottom of the net for an 8-2 early advantage. The Terriers got going offensively, but the Leopards remained in control to the 12-minute mark as a put-back from Quinn made it 17-9.
 
Stephens continued to take control of the Lafayette offense through the next five minutes as a triple and a driving floater from the left side moved the advantage to nine at the 6:44 mark, 28-19. Two more threes from the junior and a Quinn layup across the lane sent it under the four-minute mark with the lead up to 14, 36-22.
 
Five straight for the Terriers out of the four-minute break forced a Lafayette timeout at 1:59 with the visitors cutting it to 11, 38-27. That timeout was all the Maroon and White needed to close the half with final five points and a 43-27 halftime margin.
 
Boston U. jumped right to the comeback effort out of the intermission, scoring the first eight to force a Lafayette timeout with 17:44 remaining and the lead cut to 43-35. Perry's steal and run-out settled the Leopards down, though, and their lead stuck at nine, 46-37, with 16:35 to play.
 
The Terriers hung around as the two sides traded buckets all the way through the four-minute mark and Lafayette's lead stood at six, 59-53. The final moments got dicey for the Maroon and White, but the Leopards pulled it out in the end with a final of 61-59.
 
Lafayette returns to Kirby Sports Center for its next contest on Sunday, hosting Loyola for Team Takeover at 2 p.m.