Lafayette Uses Strong Second Half To Pull Away From Princeton
An exciting and offensive first half gave way to defensive battle in the second half with Lafayette coming out on top over Princeton 83-66. Lafayette’s five starters accounted for 82 of the team’s 83 points.
Both teams were on fire during the first 20 minutes from everywhere on the court. Lafayette claimed the largest first half lead with 7 points when the score was 11-4 after two and a half minutes and later 37-30. By the end of the first half, the score was 47-44 in favor of Lafayette, but the percentages from the field were astounding. Princeton shot 60.9% from the field (14 of 23) and 69.2% from three point range. Lafayette put up better numbers with 68% from the field (17 of 25) and 71.4% from beyond the arc (5 of 7). Hans Brase had 14 points and Spencer Weisz had 12 points for Princeton. Bryce Scott scored 12 points and Dan Trist added 11 points for Lafayette.
The second half was dramatically different, especially for Princeton. The Tigers quickly found themselves down 54-44, but were able to chop that deficit in half at 64-59 midway through the second half. However, the Leopards continually built that lead back up to reach the final score of 83-66. Princeton saw their field goal percentage drop to 36.8% in the second half (7 of 19) and were just 1 of 6 from three point land (16.7%). Lafayette continued to shoot decently going 12 of 28 from the field for a percentage of 42.9. They also hit 5 of their 10 three pointers in the second half.
Princeton was led by Weisz with 19 points and 7 boards with Brase scoring 17 points with 6 rebounds. Pete Miller added in 14 points, but the drop off to the next scorer was 8 points as Steven Cook had only 6 points. For the game, the Tigers shot 50% and were 10 of 19 on three pointers (52.6%). They went 14 of 21 on free throws (66.7%) and committed 17 turnovers.
Lafayette saw nearly all their points come from the starters. Joey Ptasinski had 21 points, Seth Hinrichs scored 19 points, Nick Lindner added 17 points, Dan Trist scored 13 points, and Bryce Scott had 12 points. Zach Rufer scored the one solitary point off the bench for the Leopards. For the game, Lafayette went 29 of 53 from the field (54.7%) and 10 of 17 from three point land (58.8%). They drained 15 of 21 free throws (71.4%) and committed just 7 turnovers in the game.
Princeton (1-2) has dropped back-to-back games after they opened the season with a win. Next up for them is Incarnate Word (2-0) on Saturday night. Lafayette (2-1) faces Penn (0-2) on the road Saturday night. It will be the second of three straight games against Ivy League opponents for the Leopards.
Dartmouth Loses Close Game On The Road At Hartford
An improved performance from Gabas Maldunas was not enough for Dartmouth to get the victory, as they fell to Hartford 53-48 in a closely contested game.
Both teams traded buckets to start the game before Hartford went on an 8-0 midway through the first half to take a 19-11 lead. Hartford managed to build the lead up to 30-19 but Dartmouth closed on a 7-0 run to make it 30-26 at halftime. The Big Green was far more efficient shooting the ball than their opponents by going 10 of 22 from the field (45.5%) and were 4 of 10 on three pointers. Hartford went 9 of 32 from the field (28.1%) and hit 6 of 15 three pointers (40%). Dartmouth did have 9 first half turnovers compared to just two for the Eagles. The Big Green were led by Alex Mitola’s 12 points in the first half while Nate Sikma was the top scorer for Hartford with 7 points.
The second half was more of the same with both teams finding that scoring was at a premium. Hartford led 42-34 halfway through the second half, but three straight layups from Maldunas tied the game in addition to a couple of free throws from Miles Wright. Hartford took the lead immediately after that and did not look back though Dartmouth was always within striking distance. Ultimately, Hartford hit their free throws to win 52-46. Dartmouth went 9 of 22 from the field in the second half (40.9%) and were 0 for 7 on three pointers. The committed 10 turnovers as well and Maldunas scored 10 points in the second half to lead the Big Green. Hartford went 8 of 20 from the field (40%) while they also missed all three of their three pointers. Yolonzo Moore was the leading scorer for the Eagles at 10 points in the second half.
Alex Mitola led Dartmouth with 16 points for the game and Maldunas had 12 points and 9 rebounds. The Big Green shot 19 of 44 from the field (43.2%) and were a poor 4 of 17 on three pointers (23.5%). Dartmouth was 6 of 7 on free throws (85.7%) and committed 19 turnovers, which led to their demise.
Yolonzo Moore had 13 points for Hartford to lead the team in scoring and also had 5 rebounds. Mark Nwakamma and Nate Sikma both had 9 points while John Carroll scored 8 points. For the game, Hartford shot 17 of 52 from the field (32.7%) and were 6 of 18 from three point land. They hit 13 of 19 free throws (68.4%) and committed 10 turnovers.
Dartmouth (0-2) does not play again until Friday, November 28 when they take on IPFW (2-0) at home. Hartford (2-1) travels on the road to face Niagara (0-1).
Mistake Filled First Half Dooms Brown Against Holy Cross
Three days after beating then #25 Harvard, Holy Cross made sure there was no let down against Brown on Wednesday night. The Crusaders took advantage of 12 first half turnovers by Brown en route to an 80-65 victory.
It was tied at 9 apiece at the 13:24 mark, but it was all Holy Cross after that with a 31-16 run to end the half. The Crusaders were not overly impressive with their shooting percentages, but they were able to build their lead due to 12 Brown turnovers. They shot 15 of 33 from the floor (45.5%) and were only 3 of 12 from beyond the arc (25%). Anthony Thompson had 10 first half points with Malachi Alexander scoring 9 points. Brown went 10 of 26 from the field (38.5%) and were only 2 of 9 on three pointers (22.2%). Cedric Kuakumensah led the Bears with 9 points and Leland King chipped in 7 points.
The second half started off poorly for Brown as they quickly fell behind 49-29 going into the under 16 media timeout. The Bears were able to to cut the lead down to 52-45 within a few minutes thanks to 8 points from King, but the Crusaders reasserted themselves and reestablished the 15 point lead. That would hold until the end of the game with the 80-65 final score line and both teams shot well in the second half. Leland King went off with 18 points and 6 rebounds in the second half while Kuakumensah scored 11 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. The Bears went 13 of 25 from the field (52%) and 2 of 8 from beyond the arc, but committed 11 turnovers. Eric Green scored 13 points for Holy Cross and Justin Burrell had 10 points. The Crusaders went 15 of 27 from the field in the second half (55.6%) and were 4 of 9 from beyond the arc (44.4%).
Brown was led by two 20 point scorers in King (25 points and 8 rebounds) and Kuakumensah (20 points and 8 rebounds). For the game, the Bears shot 23 of 51 from the field (45.1%), 4 of 17 from three point range (23.5%), and 15 of 17 from the free throw line (88.2%). They out-rebounded Holy Cross 32-26, but committed 23 turnovers.
The Crusaders had four scorers in double figures with Eric Green (16), Anthony Thompson (15), Justin Burrell (14), and Malachi Alexander (14). Cullen Hamilton had 9 points as well. Holy Cross shot 50% from the field (30 of 60), were 7 of 21 on three pointers (33.3%), and 13 of 18 on free throws (72.2%). They committed 14 turnovers, but were able to take advantage of the 23 by Brown.
Brown (1-2) travels to face Indiana State (1-1) on Saturday. Holy Cross (2-0) faces Nichols College on Sunday afternoon.