HAMILTON, N.Y. – Freshman
Neal Quinn had his best performance of the season with a season-best 22 points, but the Lafayette men's basketball team couldn't find enough to knock off top-seeded Colgate in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals on Sunday afternoon in Hamilton, N.Y., ending its season with a final of 89-64.
The Leopards, seeded fifth and making their first appearance in the semifinal round since their championship run in 2014-15, close their 2019-20 campaign with an overall record of 19-12, going 10-8 in Patriot League play. Colgate moves on to face Boston U. in the championship game on Wednesday evening.
Quinn's 22 came on 9-of-11 from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line as the freshman heads into an important summer. Junior
E.J. Stephens was the other offensive weapon for the Maroon and White, matching Quinn with 22 points on 7-of-16 overall and 6-of-6 from the foul line.
The Leopards struggled offensively all day, going 5-of-21 from beyond the arc (23.8%) and 22-of-61 overall (36.1%). Colgate controlled the glass to a 48-30 margin and netted 22 second-chance points to thwart any Lafayette comeback chance.
The game was the finale for Lafayette's four-member senior class as
Myles Cherry,
Lukas Jarrett,
Cal Reichwein and
Kyle Stout donned the Maroon and White for the final time.
Colgate came out firing, hitting four of its first five threes and 6-of-8 from the field for a 16-7 lead after five minutes. After six more from the Raiders, Quinn's three-point play on a strong spin move from the block at the 11:42 mark made it a 12-point game, 22-10.
The Raiders moved out their lead throughout the opening half as Lafayette's cold shooting continued, trailing 38-21 with less than four minutes to play. The advantage got as high as 22 with 45 seconds left, but Stephens' jumper from the right elbow sent the half to the game at a 20-point difference, 47-27.
Five from Rapolas Ivanauskas around the 16-minute mark moved the Colgate lead to 24, but freshman
Leo O'Boyle's three and another finish through a foul from Quinn moved it under 20 at 61-44. Perry's three at 14:32 trimmed it to 16, but five back from the Raiders staved off the Maroon and White at the 13-minute mark, up 21, 68-47.
The home side wouldn't be denied throughout the second half as each Leopard run was met with a counter. In the end, the comeback never materialized as the 2019-20 season finished out with an 89-64 final.
