HAMILTON – Lafayette's Justin Jaworski hit a game-winning three-pointer with three seconds to play to help the Leopards hand the Colgate men's basketball team its first Patriot League loss of the season as the Raiders fell 71-68 Friday night at Cotterell Court.
 
Colgate held a 12-point halftime lead, but Lafayette stormed back to erase the deficit nine minutes into the second term. The teams traded leads for the final 10 minutes before senior Sean O'Brien drilled a three-pointer that tied the game at 68-68 with eight seconds to play. Jaworski then answered right back as he buried an NBA-range trey with three seconds left. Colgate got off a last-second shot attempt, but it bounced off the backboard to send the Leopards home victorious.
 
The loss marks Colgate's first defeat at Cotterell Court this season and first loss of Patriot League play.
 
Senior Jordan Swopshire led Colgate with 21 points, his second 20-plus point effort in three Patriot League games. O'Brien followed with 16 points, while sophomore Will Rayman added 10.
 
Colgate got out to a quick 5-0 lead three minutes into the game and later found itself ahead 20-12 following back-to-back Swopshire three-pointers at the 11:19 mark. The Leopards battled back with an 11-2 streak over the next four minutes to take a momentary 23-22 lead with 7:01 left in the term.
 
A jumper from junior Francisco Amiel sparked six-straight Colgate points that served as the front end of an 18-5 half-closing run. O'Brien scored five points during the streak, while five other Raiders added baskets to send Colgate into the locker room with a 40-28 halftime advantage.
 
The Leopards spent the first nine minutes of the second half on a 19-7 run to even the score at 47-47 with 11:21 to play. Five points from Swopshire finally stopped the streak, but Lafayette had an answer for nearly every Colgate basket the rest of the way.
 
The Raiders shot just 26.7 percent (8-for-30) from the field in the second term as Colgate struggled to find its offensive rhythm. O'Brien's fourth three-pointer of the game tied the score at 68 with eight seconds to play before Jaworski hit the game-winner to seal the Lafayette victory.
 
 
BOTTOM LINE

• Lafayette 71, Colgate 68

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• Colgate falls to 7-7 on the season and 2-1 in the Patriot League.
• Lafayette improves to 4-10 overall and 2-1 in league action with its second-straight win.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• Swopshire led Colgate in scoring for the third-straight game. The senior shot 6-for-11 from the field and 6-for-7 from the free throw line en route to the 21-point performance. He added six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• O'Brien reached double-figures for the first time in four games as the senior finished with 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting.
• Rayman's 10 points were accompanied by seven rebounds.
• Junior Dana Batt pulled down a team-best nine rebounds.

 
FACTS & FIGURES

• Colgate finished the game shooting 38.5 percent (25-for-65) from the field. The Raiders were 48.6 percent (17-for-35) in the first half compared to the mark of 26.7 percent (8-for-30) in the second half.
• Colgate was 33.3 percent (8-for-24) from three-point range and 76.9 percent (10-for-13) from the free throw line.
• Lafayette shot 46.6% (27-for-58) from the field, 27.3 percent (6-for-22) from downtown and 64.7 percent (11-for-17) from the charity stripe.
• Rebounds were dead even at 38-38.
• Lafayette was led by Matt Klinewski's 22 points.

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel

• "This is a totally different kind of game and team than we've faced recently. They're a very good offensive team and they have great coaching and stay with what they do. I was hopeful that we would have a little more maturity about us tonight and be ready to take that next step, and I'm obviously disappointed that we weren't able to get that done."

 
UP NEXT

• The Raiders remain home Monday to host Navy in another big Patriot League battle.
• Tipoff from Cotterell Court is slated for 5 p.m.