Courtesy of GoLeopards.com
EASTON, Pa. – Junior Matt Klinewski of the Lafayette men’s basketball team looked like his vintage self on Wednesday evening at Kirby Sports Center, hitting on 9-of-14 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line for 25 points to lead the Leopards to a 69-59 win over Holy Cross.
The victory is the first for the Leopards since Jan. 5 and snaps a nine-game losing streak for the Maroon and White. Lafayette improves to 7-17 on the season and 3-10 in Patriot League play, while the Crusaders fall to 12-14 and 6-7 in conference action.
“We played from the start to the finish today,” head coach Fran O’Hanlon said. “They made their run early in the second half, but we kept our lead and the talk on the bench was great.”
Rebounding and defense, areas the Leopards have struggled in throughout the season, won the game on Wednesday night. Lafayette was all over the glass, dominating with a 41-22 rebounding advantage. Additionally, the Maroon and White held Holy Cross to 37.3 percent shooting from the field and just 59 points, the lowest margin for an opponent since the second game of the season, a 61-57 win over Saint Peter’s.
“Our younger guys have been working every day in practice and they’re getting better,” Klinewski added. “Kyle’s making shots, Hunter [Janacek] made some nice plays tonight; they’re reading the defense and getting better every day, which is nice to see.”
Klinewski added eight boards to his 25-point line to lead two Leopards that finished in double-figure scoring. The other was freshman Kyle Stout, who continues to come on in the latter half of Patriot League play, tallying 16 points and six rebounds on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
“I think I’m getting used to the speed of the game,” Stout stated. “The confidence that my teammates and coaches have had in me all year is really starting to pay off.”
The Leopards hit on 21 of their 47 shots from the field (44.7%) and 6-of-18 from deep (33.3%), while missing just two free throws for a 91.3 percent effort from the line (21-for-23). Senior captain Nick Lindner chipped in with nine points and four assists, and freshman Lukas Jarrett had another solid 19 minutes of action, ripping down seven rebounds, scoring five points and adding two blocks, including a monster swat into the fourth row early in the second half.
Lafayette started strong, looking comfortable in its home gym as a Stout follow off a missed jumper from Jarrett put the Leopards up 7-3 after three minutes. The trend continued through the 11-minute mark as a Lindner triple off a beautiful feed from junior Eric Stafford, who returned after a four-game injury absence, took the game into the media timeout with the Leopards up, 19-8.
The lead grew as high as 14 as freshman Myles Cherry was the benefactor twice off feeds from sophomore Paulius Zalys for easy layups as the Leopards took a 26-12 lead with 8:34 to play in the half. Lindner free throws, followed by a Klinewski jumper moved the edge to 16 at 30-14 with 3:47 remaining and the Leopards saw out the final stretch, surrendering just two points off their lead with a 33-21 advantage into the halftime break.
Lafayette started the second half in another drought for the second straight game as Holy Cross scored the first 10 points to cut the lead to just two, 33-31, with 16:13 on the clock. The Leopards finally settled in, though, as six straight points from Klinewski got the Leopards on the board, leading by three, 41-38, with 11:45 to go.
The Leopards stormed back out over the next two minutes, capping off a 7-2 spurt with a big-time three from Stout on a Lindner feed to push the edge to 48-40 at 9:26. The momentum continued over the next five minutes as a Klinewski layup and Lindner free throws kept the lead at 10, 56-46, with 3:36 remaining.
There was no comeback to be had from the Crusaders as the Leopards were clutch from the line down the stretch, going 9-of-10 from the free-throw stripe in the final three minutes. Robert Champion knocked down a deep three at the buzzer, but it only changed the final score as the Leopards walked away with a 69-59 victory.
Lafayette travels to Annapolis, Md. on Saturday for a matchup with Navy at 7 p.m.
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