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Gamecenter: Penn 69, Lafayette 81

28 November, 2007

by

1st 2nd Final
Penn (2-5) 29 40 69
Lafayette (4-2) 34 47 81
Kirby Sports Center – Easton, PA Boxscore
Keys to the Game
Key sequence Penn was leading 50-49 midway through the second half, when Lafayette exploded with a 13-0 blitz. Three-pointers by Andrew Brown, Paul Cummins, and Brown again on successive possessions put the Leopards up eight, then Cummins fed Matt Betley for a layup and a double-digit cushion. Ted Detmer came up with a steal and drove in for an emphatic dunk to cap off the run, putting Lafayette up 62-50 with 9:55 remaining.
Key sign it was over Aron Cohen’s three-pointer made it 77-65 in Lafayette’s favor with 3:10 to play. Penn caught a break when Betley missed both free throws, but he grabbed his own miss the second time, and Michael Gruner drilled a three to cancel out Cohen’s. Kevin Egee got a layup at the other end, but the Leopards ran the shot clock down to two seconds before Brian Grandieri fouled Gruner, who hit one of two to make it 81-67 with just 96 seconds remaining. When Harrison Gaines couldn’t finish inside and Lafayette controlled the rebound, there was no doubt as to the outcome.
Key performance Brown led a balanced Leopard scoring attack with 15 points on 4-for-8 shooting from three-point range. The senior point guard also added three rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals in 29 minutes of playing time.
Key statistic Penn’s defense fell apart after halftime, allowing Lafayette to shoot 17 of 29 (58.6 percent) from the floor and 7 of 15 (46.7 percent) from outside the arc, as the Leopards put up 47 second-half points.
Notes

– Mike Kach was the game’s top scorer with 17 points off the bench for Penn, including going 8-for-8 at the line and tallying six rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes. Grandieri and Jack Eggleston each chipped in 13 for the Quakers.

– Six Lafayette players — including all five starters — scored in double figures.

– Penn rebounded at 40.0 percent offensively while holding Lafayette to 29.0 percent, but the Quakers couldn’t capitalize on these extra opportunities, as the Leopards outscored them 14-12 in second-chance points.

– The Quakers had a 32-28 edge in points in the paint, but were outscored 33-15 from three-point range.

– Lafayette had a 17-12 edge in turnovers, and — coincidentally — a 17-12 edge in points off turnovers.

– The win was the Leopards’ first against the Quakers in the last nine meetings, and just the fourth all-time in 41 games.

– Lafayette will welcome NJIT to Easton on Monday, December 3 at 7:00 pm ET.

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