The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team suffered its fifth-straight loss Sunday evening as they fell in double-overtime to Lafayette, 98-92, at Stratis Arena in Hackensack. The contest featured 15 ties and 14 lead changes. With the victory, the Leopards improve to 5-9 on the season, while the Knights fall to 3-8 overall.
Senior Mike Scott (Philadelphia, PA/Texas Christian) (Philadelphia, PA) led the Knights by tying a career high with 23 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Senior Kamil Svrdlik (Prerov, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Zlin) (Prerov, Czech Republic) picked up his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Briahn Smith (Detroit, MI/Madison) (Detroit, MI) added a career-high 15 points, while senior John Galvin (Weston, CT/Weston) (Weston, CT) chipped in 10. Sophomore DeShawn Dockery (Chicago, IL/Worcester Academy) (Chicago, IL) added a career-high nine rebounds and five assists.
Lafayette took a 61-57 lead with 4:08 to go in regulation. The Knights were able to tie the game on two different occasions down the stretch. After Jim Mower hit one of two free throws with 14 second left, Smith buried a three for the Knights to give them their first lead (67-66) since they were ahead, 54-53, with a little over seven minutes to go. With 1.7 seconds left, a foul was called on the Knights, and Ryan Willen was only able to make one of two from the line, forcing overtime.
The Knights were able to force a second overtime after Scott converted an acrobatic three-point play to tie the game at 79 with 22 seconds remaining.
Lafayette was able outscore the Knights, 19-13, in the second free period by knocking down three three-pointers, knocking down its free throws and taking advantage of missed free throws by the Knights.
In the first half, neither team could gain much of an advantage as there were four ties and five lead changes. After Lafayette took its largest lead of the half at 16-12, the Knights scored 12 unanswered points to take their largest lead of the game, 24-16, with 3:31 to go in the half.
The Leopards then answered with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 26 with 52 seconds remaining in the half.
Scott's old-fashion three-point play at the end of the first half put the Knights up, 29-26, heading into the break.
Lafayette outscored the Knights, 14-5, to open the second half. However, Scott's layup triggered a 13-0 Knights' run to extend the lead back to seven at 47-40 with 12:12 remaining in regulation.
The visitors then scored eight quick points of their own to regain the lead, 48-47. Both teams would eventually tie seven more times during regulation.
Mower led all scorers with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Jared Mintz added 24 points and nine rebounds for Lafayette. Willen, Darion Benbow and Rob Delaney added 12 points, while Tony Johnson chipped in 10.
The Leopards shot 44.1 percent from the field, while the Knights shot 41.4 percent. They also out-rebounded the Knights, 49-47. The difference in the game was at the free throw line, where Lafayette made 25-of-33, and th Knights only made 28-of-47.
"Our effort was great," said Head Coach Greg Vetrone. "I wish our players could have won. We have to play all facets of the game to win. We missed 19 free throws. That was the difference."
The Knights will look to improve to 3-0 in Northeast Conference play when they host Sacred Heart Thursday, Jan. 6, at Stratis Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
