BALTIMORE, Md. - Lafayette recovered from a 16-point halftime deficit and had two opportunities to tie the game on its final possession, but neither shot fell in a 73-70 final at Loyola Md. on Wednesday evening.

Freshman Josh Rivera paced the Maroon and White, knocking down 19 points and shooting 50 percent from 3-point range. The New Brunswick, N.J. native grabbed nine rebounds and dished out three assists. Overall, Lafayette shot 47.3 percent from the floor.

The Greyhounds opened the first half with a 12-8 stretch down to 15:30, with four Leopards getting on the board early. Senior captain Leo O'Boyle led the stretch by sinking a 3-pointer, followed by Kyle Jenkins with a layup. Sophomores Justin Vander Baan and CJ Fulton combined for nine points as Lafayette found the first tie, 17-17, at 9:40.

Loyola's Jaylin Andrews knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to pull away with a 12-0 run to the four-minute mark for a 29-17 margin. A 10-6 Loyola stretch followed and gave the Greyhounds a 39-23 advantage at the break, their largest of the contest.

Rivera opened the second half with eight points, fueling an 11-2 run to put Lafayette within seven (41-34) at 16:16.

Lafayette trailed 58-48 with eight minutes left, but continued to chip away at the deficit. Devin Hines spurred an 11-4 Lafayette spurt to 3:14 with six points to close in on the Greyhounds, 62-59.

Loyola's Tyson Commander hit a step-back 3-pointer at 1:17 that was immediately nullified by Fulton's own shot from beyond the arc just 11 seconds later, narrowing the gap to 69-67.

The Maroon and White got as close as 71-70 with under a minute left in the game thanks to a 3-pointer from Rivera with 21 seconds left and a flurry of forced fouls to regain possession. 

The Leopards had two final chances to tie the game, as Rivera had a solid look from the top of the three-point line that came off long. Hines grabbed the ball from the offensive glass, but his desperation buzzer-beater fell short with under one second on the clock.

The Leopards travel to Army on Saturday with tip-off slated for 6 p.m. The matchup will air on CBS Sports Network with Jason Knapp and Mo Cassara calling the action from West Point, N.Y.


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