Jan. 2, 2005
EASTON, PA. - Lafayette rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit to defeat Columbia 65-62 in Easton, Pa. on Sunday afternoon. With the loss Columbia fell to 7-4, while Lafayette improved to 4-7.
Columbia led by as many as 12 in the first half, behind junior Dragutin Kravic's (Zrenjanin, Serbia) nine points and senior Tito Hill's (Woodland Hills, Calif.) eight points.
The momentum started to shift at the four minute mark when Lafayette big man Sean Knitter hit a three and Matt Betley hit a three-pointer two minutes later. Betley was later fouled and hit one of two free throws with less than a minute on the clock. Ted Detmer hit his only field goal of the game on a floating three as time expired to cut the lead to two, 36-34, at the break.
The second half was defined by streaks as the Leopards opened up the game on a 17-7 run, but Columbia rallied with its own 11-2 run, over a span of eight minutes, initiated by senior Jeremiah Boswell's (Jasper, Ga.) athletic baseline layup at 12:21.
Lafayette's Andrei Capusan hit a layup at the four-minute mark to tie the game at 55-55. There were nine lead changes and ties over the next three minutes, but two free throws by Boswell put the Lions up one, 62-61, with one minute remaining. With 26 seconds remaining, Matt Betley missed a jumper and off of three taps in the paint, Knitter came up with the board and the put-back to give the Leopards a one-point lead with 23 seconds to play.
After a Columbia time-out, a well-executed play gave Kravic the open look at a three which rimmed in and out of the basket. The Lions were forced to foul and Jamie Hilliard hit both free throws for the final three-point margin.
Kravic led the Lions with 15 points, while Boswell added 14 points. Hill rounded out the double-digit scoring effort with a season-high 10 points. Notably, first-year forward John Baumann (Westport, Conn.) scored seven points in his collegiate debut. Senior forward Matt Preston missed the game due to illness.
Harley, Hughes and Knitter each finished with 11 points for the Leopards.
Columbia returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to Army for a 7 p.m. game.
