Patriot League Review: Lafayette Gets First Win, American Stays Unbeaten

Well, folks, it finally happened. On the back of the sharp-shooting Joey Ptasinski Lafayette got its first win in Patriot League play. Ptasinki made all six of the field goals he attempted, all from three, for a game-high 22 points. This was the second straight strong outing for Ptasinski after he made five-of-six against Colgate on Monday night. Dan Trist added 17 off the bench and Nick Lindner chipped in 13. Seth Hinrichs added six in 25 minutes of his second game since returning from a knee injury.

It was only a matter of time before the Leopards put it together and got their first win. Fran O'Hanlon's team had been close on several occasions, but couldn't break through without Hinrichs in there adding another element to the offense. Even if he isn't scoring the ball, his presence on the floor opens up the offense for everyone else, namely Ptasinski. Navy was the logical team to steal a win from, particularly with Tillman Dunbar still suspended from the team. The Mids are now 2-8 in league play and don't seem to have too much more room between where they are and their ceiling.

It took nearly the entire contest for American to put Holy Cross away, but a late bucket from Jesse Reed gave the Eagles just enough breathing room to remain undefeated in the Patriot League. Despite playing just six players, American managed to keep the intensity up late and extend its winning streak to 11 on the back of a balanced offensive effort.

Tony Wroblicky led the way with 18 points while Reed (13), Darius Gardner (12), John Schoof (10) and Kyle Kager (10) all scored in double digits. Marko Vasic, the lone reserve to see the floor, didn't score, but contributed three rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and an assist. All of this contributed to the Eagles overcoming a 60 percent shooting performance from Holy Cross, led by 14 points from Malcolm Miller.

After running through the first half of their inaugural Patriot League schedule, the BU Terriers have slowed down a bit. Facing a middling but scrappy Lehigh team on Saturday, the Terriers lost for the second time in three games thanks to a late bucket from Lehigh's star, Mackey McKnight. McKnight finished with 16 points and seven assists, but it was his last-second layup that gave Lehigh an 82-80 advantage and its fifth Patriot League win.

Tim Kempton scored a team-high 18 points in the win while Jesse Chuku and Justin Goldsborough each scored 11 points and combined for five blocks. BU got 25 points from D.J. Irving and 17 points from Dom Morris, but a 12-for-22 performance from the free throw line ended up being the Terriers' undoing.

Other Patriot League Action

• The Army Black Knights picked up a game on BU by storming back to beat Loyola, Md. Greyhounds 77-71 in Baltimore. Kyle Wilson poured in 25 points while Kevin Ferguson added 15 and seven rebounds to lift Army to its seventh win in conference. Dylon Cormier was held to just 14 points, but Jarred Jones scored 17 off the bench to keep Loyola's offense moving.
• The Bucknell Bison got themselves back to .500 in the Patriot League with a 79-68 win over the Colgate Red Raiders behind 21 points from Cameron Ayers. Murphy Burnatowski scored 20 for Colgate in the loss, the Raiders' eighth of conference play.

Patriot League Standings