MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - Men's basketball lost to West Virginia, 81-59, on Monday evening in Hope Coliseum.

Andrew Phillips paced Lafayette with 19 points, knocking down 7-of-15 on the floor and adding three 3-pointers. Caleb Williams also finished in double figures (16) for the fifth-straight game, securing five rebounds and four assists on the stat sheet.

The Leopards opened the first half with four scorers to tie the Big 12 foe, 13-13 at the 10-minute mark. Mark Butler's five points combined with Ryan Pettit's 3-pointer to beat the shot clock (11:48) kept Lafayette in contention.

West Virginia's DJ Thomas retaliated with his own 7-0 run, putting the Mountaineers in the lead, 20-13 at 7:58.

Despite a well-passed long baseline throw to Christian Humphrey-Rembert, who sank a shot beyond the arc, the hosts continued to pepper the rim for a 30-21 advantage with three minutes left before halftime.

Phillips posted five points to hold the gap to 11, 36-25, at the break.

West Virginia surged out to a 17-point lead to kick off the second half, 48-31, by 15:15. Honor Huff hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the offensive stretch.

A Phillips 3-pointer stood alone in a 13-3 Mountaineer run to 11:25, trailing 58-34.

Freshman Luke Bevilacqua and Phillips each added a pair at the line, bringing the deficit to 14, 66-52 (4:16).

The Leopards allowed West Virginia 7-of-9 from the charity stripe thereafter in the 81-59 decision. Phillips and Williams combined for seven points in the remaining three minutes of play.

Overall, Thomas and Huff led the Mountaineers with 25 and 24 points, respectively, as the opponents reached 50 percent on 58 shots from the floor.

Next up, the Leopards visit Stonehill on Friday with a 6 p.m. tip-off.


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