CORAL GABLES, Fla.- The Lafayette men's basketball team opened the 2022-23 season with a 67-54 loss to the University of Miami Hurricanes on Monday evening.

The east-coast matchup, only occurring five times since the institutions' first meeting in 1971, kicked off a new era for the Leopards under Lafayette's 19^th head coach Mike Jordan.

Lafayette's top performers were CJ Fulton with 17 points, followed by Kyle Jenkins (10) and Justin Vander Baan (9). Freshman Ryan Pettit made his collegiate debut, doling out three assists while grabbing a rebound.

In the early going, Lafayette led 8-7 after the first media timeout thanks to buckets from Josh Rivera, Fulton and TJ Berger. 

The Maroon and White held that lead until halftime with nearly half of the scoring coming off the bench, most notably six points from Vander Baan. Senior captain Leo O'Boyle started heating up, adding a pair of 3-pointers to end the first half with a 30-28 Lafayette advantage.

Miami opened the second half with a 9-0 run over the first three minutes to take a 38-30 lead. Jenkins and Fulton dropped in back-to-back baskets to end the scoring drought with Fulton's three-pointer bringing Lafayette back within three, 38-35, at 15:06.

The Leopards' kept battling, tying the game at 43-43 with 11 minutes left in the game thanks to a pair of three's by Fulton sandwiching a Jenkins layup. 

A second 9-0 spurt by Miami, fueled by five free throws, pushed the Hurricanes ahead 52-43 at 6:49. 

A pair of free throws by O'Boyle and a Vander Baan layup stopped the Miami run and cut the deficit to four (52-48) with five minutes left.

The hosts put the game away with a 15-6 run for the 67-54 final.

The Hurricanes shot 49 percent from the field and had 16 points in the paint, 11 off the bench and 13 off turnovers. Miami's Isaiah Wong and Nijel Pack led the team with 16 points each, followed by Norchad Omier at 11. The Leopards shot 37.1 percent from the field and had 12 points in the paint, 15 off the bench and nine off turnovers. The Hurricanes enjoyed a 46-34 advantage on the glass and pulled down 18 offensive rebounds. 

The Leopards travel to St. John's on Saturday for a 6 p.m. tip-off.

For the latest on the Lafayette College Men's Basketball program, follow the Leopards on Twitter @LafayetteMBB and Instagram @lafayettembb.