(Boxscore)
EASTON, PA (1/11/06) – Andrel Capusan scored a career-high 21 points, and Jamaal Hilliard added a season-high 20 points to lead Lafayette to a 85-74 win over Colgate Wednesday night at the Kirby Sports Center.
Lafayette (7-7, PL 1-1) snaps a four-game losing streak against the Raiders (7-9, PL 1-1), who dropped their seventh road game in eight outings.
Also in double figures for the hot-shooting Leopards were Andrew Brown and Pat Betley with 10 apiece. Lafayette made 60 percent of its field goal attempts connecting on 29-of-48 attempts.
Jon Simon paced Colgate with 19 points, while Kyle Roemer added 16 points, Kendall Chones 15 points and seven rebounds, and Kyle Chones with 10 points and five rebounds.
Colgate shot 44 percent from the field and 41 percent from behind the arc, but made only 15-of-23 from the charity stripe. The Leopards, one of the top free throw shooting teams in the country, connected on 20-of-24 free throws.
Lafayette held a 9-8 lead in the first half, before scoring seven straight points to open an eight-point advantage, 16-8, with 14:19 remaining. Capusan, who had 12 first half points, opened the run with a baseline jumper, and Hilliard finished it off with a 3-pointer.
The Raiders came back with eight straight points of their own to tie the contest, 16-16, with 11:14 remaining. Kendall Chones scored the first six points, and Jon Foss added a basket to tie the game. After Lafayette scored a free throw, Colgate scored the next five points to take a four-point lead, 21-17. Alvin Reed and Todd Checovich had a basket apiece, and Kendall Chones contributed a free throw.
After Lafayette rallied to tie the game again, 21-21, Colgate pushed ahead by three points on Kyle Chones’ 3-pointer. The Leopards came right back with a 17-4 run to take the lead, 38-28, with 1:39 left. Capusan nailed five baskets for the Leopards, while Matt Betley added a 3-pointer. Lafayette led at halftime, 41-31.
In the second half, Lafayette quickly opened a 17-point lead with 17:35 left, before Colgate scored 11 straight points to cut the deficit to six points. Simon and Roemer had four points apiece and Kyle Chones started the run with a 3-pointer.
Lafayette was leading by seven points, 57-50, with 11:42 left, and proceeded to score nine straight points to take control of the game. The closest the Raiders would come to the Leopards was the final score.
GAME NOTES: Lafayette’s 82 points was the most allowed by the Raiders this season … Roemer has made a 3-pointer in 19 straight games, while Dan Gentile has scored from behind the arc in seven straight games.
