WORCESTER, Mass.- Sophomore Ryan Pettit hit a crucial 3-pointer to fight off Holy Cross, 72-68, on Wednesday evening in the Hart Center as Lafayette advanced to 5-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

Freshman Mark Butler led three Leopards in double figures with a team-high 14 points, four assists and four rebounds. Devin Hines added 13 points, five boards and a steal. Pettit connected on four-of-six from the field, including 3-of-4 from long distance, to go with five rebounds off of the bench.

The Crusaders jumped out to an 11-6 lead at the 15-minute mark thanks to five points by Will Batchelder.

Hines and Pettit evened the score, 15-15, at 11:39 and 10:51, each knocking down a shot from beyond the arc.

Lafayette earned a 12-10 run to 5:55, as another Hines 3-pointer capped a 27-25 advantage. The West Palm Beach, Fla. native recorded seven points in the stretch.

Joshua Wyche put up four points in a 10-6 spurt to close out the first half. The freshman guard picked up a steal, three assists and three rebounds to help Lafayette lead the Crusaders 37-31 after the first 20 minutes of play.

Butler, the Patriot League Rookie of the Week, tallied six points in a 13-9 run to open the second half and maintain a 10-point lead, 50-40, by 15:24. The first-year Leopard also assisted senior Kyle Jenkins' 3-pointer at 17:50.

Holy Cross created an 11-2 offensive opportunity over the following four minutes to shrink that lead to one, 52-51. Four Crusaders got on the board in that time, led by Caleb Kenney's four points on a layup and a pair of free throws.

Jenkins netted four points as the Leopards shot four-of-eight from the floor to stay afloat at the seven-minute mark, 64-61.

Both teams were held to one bucket apiece thereafter until Holy Cross' Kenney scored an and-one alley-oop from Bo Montgomery at 1:22 to tie the game at 66-66 .

Pettit quickly ran down a layup before Montgomery matched him just under the one-minute mark. Pettit took a crisp pass by Butler, in which he sank the pivotal 3-pointer with just 29 seconds on the clock to cement a 71-68 advantage.

The Crusaders attempted a deep game-saving shot of their own (0:10), but were unable to convert. Justin Vander Baan closed the 72-68 contest with a final free throw.

Holy Cross shot 45.6 percent from the field and went nine-for-nine from the charity stripe. Kenney led a trio of Crusaders in double figures with 15 points, shooting 6-of-11 from the field and added four blocks.

The Maroon and White shot 45 percent from the field on 60 attempts overall. Holy Cross narrowly out-rebounded Lafayette 34-33, leaving an 11-9 margin on the offensive glass to the visitors.

The Leopards host Bucknell on Saturday with tip-off slated for 2 p.m.


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