EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette christened its 2026-27 home opener in historic fashion, toppling D3 King's in a lopsided 104-67 victory. The Leopards previously broke the 100-point mark in December 2016 (104-67 against Moravian).
Cooper Kesler led the charge against the Monarchs, tallying 25 points while knocking down six of his nine attempts from three-point range. The Idaho Falls, Idaho native was one of four Leopards to collect double-digit points, joined by Beckett Currie (15), Jasraj Gill (14) and Owen Kelly (12).
The Maroon and White started strong, with Gill collecting six points on Lafayette's 14-2 run to open the contest. Currie (3) and Shareef Jackson (2) added scores, with a triple from Kelly to cap off the run and force a timeout with 15:56 in the half. During the stretch, Lafayette's defense held King's to a 16.7% shooting percentage from the field.
The visitors' Sean Forrest hit a jumper to stop the run, but the Maroon and White answered with 17 consecutive points (31-4). Kesler and Kelly led the squad in scoring throughout the spurt, with five points apiece.
With 6:55 remaining in the first period, the Leopards held a 46-12 advantage. The Monarchs fought back, outscoring Lafayette 19 to nine before halftime. As the clock trickled down to zero, Kesler flew down the court and netted a midrange jumper from the free throw line to beat the buzzer and secure a 55-31 lead for the Maroon and White.
Four Leopards collected double-digit points in the first half, with Kesler (13) leading the way. Gill, Currie and Kelly all tacked on 10 points each. The hosts held an advantage in assists (18-4) and rebounds (22-15), while never trailing in the first half (19:42 with lead).
Scoring slowed down in the second half, with both teams combining for 37 points over the first 10 minutes. At 10:25, Lafayette held a 79-41 advantage that was capped off by an emphatic slam dunk from Gill. King's found a brief spark, collecting 11 of the following 13 points, but one of Kesler's four threes in the half stopped the run (84-52).
The Leopards maintained a steady gap over the final 10 minutes of action, building a lead as large as 40 points to coast to a 104-67 final at Kirby Sports Center.
Lafayette resumes its non-conference portion of the schedule Saturday, embarking to Saint Joseph's for a 4 p.m. showdown.
For the latest on the Lafayette College men's basketball program, follow the Leopards on Twitter @LafayetteMBB and Instagram @lafayettembb.
