EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette men's basketball team came out in the second half determined to snap its three-game skid, erasing a 10-point halftime deficit in an 80-76 victory over Loyola at Kirby Sports Center on Monday evening.
 
The Leopards were on the back foot for much of the opening half as Loyola took control, leading by as many as 11 late in the opening stanza. But senior co-captain Justin Jaworski turned it on in the second 20 minutes, scoring 19 of his team-high 28 points in the latter frame to swing momentum Lafayette's way and pull out a hard-fought home victory.
 
Jaworski and Loyola's Santi Aldama, both Preseason All-Patriot League selections, put on a show as Aldama answered with 30 points and 10 rebounds to lead all scorers for the visiting side. The win gives Lafayette victories in three of the four contests with the Greyhounds this season, dropping Loyola to 1-6 overall and improving the Leopards to 6-4.
 
Freshman Kyle Jenkins had the breakout performance of his rookie season, scoring a career-high 20 points on 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range. The freshman ripped down six boards and dished out three assists, all while matching up with Aldama for the majority of the night on the defensive side.
 
Sophomore Neal Quinn was an impact performer as well, orchestrating the offense to the tune of a game-high seven assists to go along with 16 points, six boards and three blocks. Quinn entered the game third in the conference in assists per night, registering just shy of five helpers per outing.
 
Lafayette started strong with a Quinn swat leading to a Jenkins finish through a foul in transition to put the Leopards ahead, 10-4, after three minutes. Loyola settled back in, though, using a five-point run from Kenneth Jones to pull within one at the under-12 timeout, 16-15.
 
A cold stretch over the next five minutes allowed the Greyhounds to take control at the seven-minute mark, up five, 24-19. As that stretch continued with under four minutes to play, the visitors stretched their edge as high as 11, and carried momentum into the halftime break, up 10, 42-32.
 
Lafayette came out in the second with a renewed energy as a 9-2 run through the first four minutes cut the Greyhounds' lead to three, 44-41. The sides traded buckets through the 12-minute mark before a shimmy on the block opened up the hook shot in the lane for Quinn and free throws from E.J. Stephens a minute later brought the game back to even, 54-54.
 
Five from Jaworski through the 10-minute mark pushed Lafayette back in front and an up-and under in the lane from Quinn made it 61-58 with less than eight minutes to play. That lead held through the four-minute mark as the game moved to its final stretch at 68-65.
 
A driving layup from Jaylin Andrews with 1:23 left tied the game at 72-72, but a deep triple from the logo from Jaworski on the following possession swung it back Lafayette's way. The Leopards never trailed from that point forward as free throws closed it out with a final of 80-76.