Box score
NEWARK, NJ—Junior forward Jared Mintz scored a game-high 19 points for Lafayette and his team held NJIT to just eight points over the last 9:54, as the Leopards pulled away for a 69-52 win in men's college basketball Saturday afternoon in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
Mintz, who scored 10 points in the first half and nine in the second, was supported by sophomore guard Jim Mower, who came off the bench for 14 points and a team-leading four assists. Junior forward Darion Benbow pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to pace the victorious Leopards (3-1).
NJIT (1-2) got 18 points from junior guard Jheryl Wilson, who added eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Isaiah Wilkerson chipped in 11 points for the Highlanders, followed by freshman backup center Sean McCarthy, who had a double-double with 10 points and a team-best 10 rebounds.
McCarthy, who had a variety of ailments that cost him developmental time in preseason, made just his second college appearance and generated the double-double in just 16 minutes, showing aggressive rebounding on both ends and 5-for-7 shooting that featured an impressive hook shot.
In the final analysis, Lafayette's offensive production was more consistent over the course of two halves than that of the Highlanders. The Leopards scored 34 points in the first half, as did NJIT. But the Leopards added 35 points to just 18 for the Highlanders during the closing 20 minutes.
Further underlining Lafayette's consistency, the Leopards shot 56 percent from the field in the first half and 54 percent in the second half. NJIT, meanwhile, shot a respectable 42 percent in the first half, but dipped to just 25 percent on 7-for-28 in the second half.
In addition, the Highlanders, who had nine offensive rebounds in the first half, got just four in the second half, meaning many second-half NJIT possessions were one and done.
There were six ties in the closely-contested first half, including a 34-34 halftime score that saw Wilson post 12 points for NJIT and Mintz lead Lafayette with 10 points.
The visitors, who never trailed after the break, took control quickly, building a 48-38 lead in the opening 5:37 of the second half. Up by two, Lafayette scored eight unanswered points beginning with a three-point basket by Mower at the 16:12 mark, continuing with a traditional three-point play for Benbow, and concluding with a layup for Marek Koltun with 14:23 left.
NJIT cut the deficit to as few as six points, 50-44, on a pair of Chris Flores free throws with 9:54 left, but got no closer and managed just eight more points the rest of the way.
The Leopards pulled out of reach with a 12-0 run (including five points from Mintz) that extended their lead from seven points with 7:36 remaining to a game-high advantage of 19 points, 67-48, with 2:34 left.
The Highlanders will return to action on Tuesday when they host Wagner at 7 pm in the Fleisher Athletic Center. Wagner, too, has played Lafayette, opening the season with an 81-72 loss to the Leopards.
Wagner, which faces NJIT twice this season, won the first meeting between the programs last December in Newark by a 68-58 score.
