ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Lafayette erased a 12-point second-half deficit, but could not quite complete a comeback on Wednesday night as Navy held on for a 62-58 final in Patriot League men's basketball action.
 
Four Leopards finished in double figures led by Kyle Jenkins with 15 and Devin Hines, Justin Vander Baan and Chris Rubayo with 14 and 12 and 10, respectively.
 
With one regular-season game remaining, Lafayette (11-19, 10-7) has already secured a first-round bye in the Patriot League Tournament as one of the top six seeds, and the Leopards are still vying for a home game in the quarterfinal round on March 7.
 
On Wednesday night, Lafayette trailed for nearly the entire game, as Navy jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the opening minutes thanks to a pair of three's. The Mids led 29-21 at halftime.
 
Two minutes into the second half, Hines cut the Navy margin to six (35-29) following a three-pointer from the wing.  
 
The hosts re-took the momentum over the ensuing four minutes, as Navy ran off a 14-7 spurt capped by an Austin Benigni three with 13:52. Navy led 49-36.
 
The Leopards continued to battle in Alumni hall over the closing minutes. Lafayette put together an 11-1 run starting at 8:02 and kicked off by a Vander Baan three-point play. A Hines three, a Vander Baan layup and a Luka Savicevic three-pointer on a second-chance opportunity tied the game at 56-56 with two minutes left.
 
With 46 seconds left, Navy re-took the lead for a final time following a Benigni jumper from the free throw line. The Leopards turned it over on their next possession and Benigni converted two free throws after slicing some time off the clock. Navy led 60-54 with 15 seconds left.
 
Jenkins added a late baby hook shot in the lane to cut the deficit to 60-58 with four seconds left, but the Leopards again were forced to foul. Two more Benigni free throws ended the suspense as he finished with a game-high 18 points.

The Leopards shot 40 percent from the floor compared to 33 percent for Navy, while Navy controlled the glass, 44-36.
 
Lafayette will close out the regular season on Saturday, traveling to Bucknell for a 7 p.m. tip.