EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette men's basketball team fought to the final seconds against Lehigh, 66-64, on Saturday afternoon in Kirby Sports Center.

Freshman forward Josh Rivera led the pack, scoring 23 points and grabbing nine rebounds, followed by TJ Berger, CJ Fulton and Justin Vander Baan with 10 points each. Fulton had a last-second 3-pointer from deep shut down after a bounce off the rim at the final buzzer.

The Leopards battled the Mountain Hawks in the opening minutes with a 10-7 stretch to 15:27. Rivera led Lafayette with four points in the rowdy confines of Kirby Sports Center, aided by Leo O'Boyle, Kyle Jenkins and Berger with two points apiece.

Lehigh retaliated with a 7-0 run down to the 13-minute mark, taking a 14-10 lead. The Mountain Hawks added four free throws by Jakob Alamudun before Rivera sank one of his own; the Leopards trailed 18-11 at 10:14.

Lehigh took its largest advantage of the first half over the next five minutes, which included six free throws, for a score of 28-13 at 5:37.

CJ Fulton and Justin Vander Baan both sank a 3-pointer to end the Leopard shooting slump at 1:55 to keep Lafayette within striking distance, trailing 31-20. The Mountain Hawks tallied two more free throws to end the half with a 33-21 lead.

The second half opened with a 14-10 stretch to the 15-minute mark in favor of Lehigh, who still led 47-31. Berger knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to shorten the gap to 49-37 at 13:57.

An 8-5 stretch for the Maroon and White followed. Fulton chipped in with five points by 9:18, still trailing 54-45.

O'Boyle put up three free throws to close the gap to six, 57-51, at 5:37. The senior captain shot 100 percent (5-for-5) from the charity stripe this afternoon.

Lafayette kicked it into high gear with a 9-2 run as the clock ran down to 2:25. Rivera and Vander Baan fueled the stretch with five and four points, respectively, to trail by one, 60-59.

That was the closest the Maroon and White would get, as Lehigh ultimately put up three baskets to hold on to its advantage for a 66-64 final. Fulton's last-second 3-pointer was shut down from deep after a bounce off the rim at the buzzer.

Evan Taylor led Lehigh with 20 points, 12 rebounds and an assist. The Mountain Hawks shot 39.6 percent from the floor and 35 percent from beyond the arc overall. The Maroon and White shot 37.5 percent from the field and were held to 19.4 percent from 3-point range. Lafayette out-rebounded Lehigh 38-34, including a 9-5 margin on the offensive glass. 

The Leopards will face Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. on Monday with a 7 p.m. tip-off.

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