BALTIMORE, Md. - Lafayette shot 55.6 percent from long distance in a 70-44 road victory at Loyola Maryland on Wednesday evening in Reitz Arena. The win pushed the Leopards to a program record-tying 7-0 Patriot League start.

The 26-point margin of victory was the largest for the Maroon and White who improve to 8-12 overall. The 2003-04 squad was the last Lafayette team to open the conference slate with a 7-0 mark.

Four players finished in double figures with Eric Sondberg (14) leading the way. The Davidsonville, Md. native added six rebounds and two steals. Senior forward Kyle Jenkins and junior guard Luka Savicevic followed up with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Mark Butler, the Patriot League Rookie of the Week, rounded out the group with 10 points and a team-high seven assists.

The Maroon and White shot 50.9 percent from the field on 57 attempts and dominated in points in the paint (34-12), points off turnovers (20-6) and bench points (22-7) while also out-rebounding the hosts 32-26.

In the first half, Deon Perry's seven points pushed Loyola out to a 12-8 advantage at the 13-minute mark, despite Jenkins and Savicevic each knocking down 3-pointers.

Lafayette made a 15-9 run to 5:18, earning its first lead of the game, 23-21. Sondberg led five Leopard scorers with five points in the stretch.

Just before the half, the Maroon and White drafted up a final floating jumper by Savicevic to secure a 30-26 advantage going into the break.

The Leopards forged ahead, 52-30, breaking open the second half by shooting 10-of-12 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers. Butler put up six points in the Leopards' 22-4 run, to begin the largest lead of the game at 22 points at 11:38. 

Ryan Pettit's 3-pointer at 5:47 stretched the lead to a game-high 30 points as the Leopards remained in control for the balance of the game.  

The Greyhounds shot 35.4 percent from the field on 48 attempts while being held to four shots from beyond the arc overall. Perry led the Greyhounds with 18 points, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 22.2 percent on nine attempts from 3-point range.

The Leopards host Boston U. for the American Cancer Society's Suits and Sneakers Game on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. inside Kirby Sports Center.


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