EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette College men's basketball shot it nearly 50% Saturday afternoon, but visiting Princeton shot it even better to defeat the Leopards 84-73 inside Kirby Sports Center.
 
Junior Neal had a season-high 21 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists, including a 5-for-5 showing at the free throw line.
 
Both teams shot it well over 50% in the second half while the visitors shot 55% for the game from the field led by Ethan Wright's game-high 22 points.
 
It was a frantic pace to start and freshman Chris Rubayo converted an and-one on a put-back layup to give Lafayette a 15-14 lead before Princeton went on a 15-0 run to take control of the first.
 
The Leopards battle back and closed the first half on 9-2 run over the final 3:30 to make it 41-28 at the break.
 
The Tigers scored seven-unanswered to open the second half before senior Tyrone Perry converted an and-one to put an end to that.
 
Perry finished the game with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, scoring 11 in just the second half.
 
Lafayette shot 55% in the second half and scored 36 points in the paint. The Maroon and White closed the game on a 10-0 run and trailed by 23 at one point, but climbed back to cut it to 11 at t the 6:15 mark after a sophomore Jon Brantley 3-pointer.
 
Sophomore Kyle Jenkins had 12 points, six boards and three assists while Brantley came off the bench to score eight.
 
The Leopards turn their attention to the books with finals week ahead before hosting Gwynedd Mercy on Dec. 22 for the final non-conference tune-up. 
 
For the latest on the Lafayette College men's basketball program, follow the Leopards on Twitter @LafayetteMBB and Instagram @lafayettembb.