Dec. 4, 2006

Box Score

NEWARK, NJ - Sophomore point guard Andrew Brown led all scorers with a career-high 20 points in visiting Lafayette's 76-57 men's basketball win over New Jersey Institute of Technology Monday night.

Brown scored 12 of his points in the second half, as Lafayette extended a six-point halftime lead by outscoring the home team, 40-27, over the final 20 minutes.

After shooting just 4-for-15 on three-pointers in the first half, Lafayette was a spectacular 9-for-13 on second-half three-point tries. Overall, the Leopards were 13-for-28 on threes, led by Brown, who made 6 of 8 three-point tries, while shooting 7-for-9 overall from the field. He was 4-for-5 on three-pointers in the second half.

Freshman forward Jesper Andersson was the only other double-figure scorer for Lafayette, netting 11 points, including 3-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc.

NJIT got 12 points apiece from forwards Kraig Peters, a junior, and Marc Milbourne Swan, a senior.

The team rebound totals were close, 31-30, and no individual had more than four rebounds in the game. NJIT freshman point guard Andrew Engel had game-high totals in assists (8) and steals (6). Both totals were team season highs for NJIT and career highs for Engel, who had two turnovers in 36 minutes of action.

Leading at the half, 36-30, Lafayette scored the first five points of the second half to go up 11, but NJIT responded with seven straight points of its own, closing to 41-37 on Dan Lewis' foul line jumper with 15:06 left.

After the teams traded baskets, Lafayette exploded, 28-4, over a 6:37 stretch that saw the score go from 43-39 before the 13:16 mark to 71-43 on Andersson's three with 6:39 left. Twenty four of the Leopards' 28-point outburst came on three-pointers, as they hit eight of nine three-point tries in the outburst.

The first half was close throughout, with five ties and Lafayette taking its biggest lead of the half, 35-28, with 1:05 left, before settling for a 36-30 lead at the break. NJIT led by as many as six points, 18-12, on Peters' layup just past the midpoint of the half. Peters and Milbourne Swan shared the game halftime scoring lead, with 10 points each, while Ted Detmer's 9 points paced the visitors.

The game against NJIT was the fourth time in nine games that Lafayette has made at least 10 three-pointers in a game. Over the weekend, the Leopards made 15 threes in a 72-69 win at Saint Peters on Saturday.