EASTON, Pa.- Senior captain
Leo O'Boyle's 23-point performance lifted Lafayette men's basketball team over No. 7 American, 84-76, in double overtime in the Patriot League Tournament Semifinal matchup on Sunday in Kirby Sports Center. The Leopards advance to the championship game on Wednesday evening, where they will face No. 1 Colgate at 7:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
O'Boyle added six rebounds and two steals to his 23 points. Lafayette shot 48.1 percent from the floor and 51.9 percent from beyond the arc. The last time the Leopards played a double-overtime game in the Patriot League Tournament was in 2011, when Lafayette overtook American, 73-71. In tournament history, the Maroon and White are 12-2 during home games.
Justin Vander Baan followed his teammate with 19 points and 13 rebounds for his third collegiate double-double. Junior
Kyle Jenkins recorded a double-double as well by grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring 11 points while playing all 50 minutes.
The Leopards took an early 6-4 lead over the first five minutes, with Vander Baan, Jenkins and
TJ Berger all chipping in two points.
O'Boyle hit his first 3-pointer of the game at 13:51, closing the gap to two in his hunt for the 1,000 career-point milestone and extending the Lafayette advantage to 9-4.
The Maroon and White were relentless on offense down to 2:19, netting seven straight 3-point shots in a 21-5 run. Berger knocked down three while
Josh Rivera, Vander Baan, O'Boyle and
Ryan Pettit hit one apiece for the 32-12 Leopard lead.
O'Boyle's 3-point basket at 7:29 in the first half pushed him past the 1,000-point barrier. The Scranton, Pa. native is the 48
th Leopard to reach 1,000 points.
American's Matt Rogers cut the deficit with five points in the final minute, still trailing 33-17 at the end of the first half.
The Eagles opened the second half with a 7-2 stretch, sitting 11 points behind the Leopards at 16:00, 35-24.
A string of four consecutive successful Lafayette 3-point shots gave way to a 49-30 advantage at 11:50. The Maroon and White were shooting 63 percent from three-point land at that point in the game.
American's Elijah Stephens and Geoff Sprouse each sank a 3-pointer to close the gap to eight points, 58-50 at 5:16. Stephens added four more points by 2:25 as a part of a 10-0 run to hone in on the Leopards, who held the slim 58-57 advantage.
The Eagles stole the lead, 59-58, with 0:49 on the clock, but a free throw from Vander Baan earned a tie at 0:22. The Eagles took a timeout with 19 seconds left. American set up a final shot for Rogers, but Vander Baan rejected it and sent the game into overtime.
Rogers opened the extra minutes with a 3-pointer at 3:07 and a hook shot at 1:26, followed by two free throws by Vander Baan. The Eagles led 66-63 as time was running out, but O'Boyle buried a 3-pointer with four seconds left, 66-66, to end the first overtime period.
The Leopards outscored the Eagles 18-10 in the second overtime period to advance to the Patriot League Championship game. O'Boyle paced the team with six points, followed by Jenkins and Vander Baan with four apiece. Rivera chipped in three, including a dunk at 0:14 for the final Lafayette basket, and Berger tallied a free throw.
The Leopards will face Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y. on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off in the Patriot League Championship game.
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