Men’s Basketball Season Comes to an End in PL First Round
In the Patriot League Championship's First Round, Lafayette was knocked out by Holy Cross, 82-77, on Tuesday evening at Kirby Sports Center.
**EASTON, Pa. **- In the Patriot League Championship's First Round, Lafayette was knocked out by Holy Cross, 82-77, on Tuesday evening at Kirby Sports Center.
Sophomore
Caleb Williams, an All-Patriot League Third-Team honoree, was the Leopards' main option with a team-high 16 points and six rebounds. Junior
Mark Butler followed closely behind him with 15 points and a career-high 10 assists. Lafayette recorded a 49 percent outing from the floor with 10-of-21 from 3-point range, while Holy Cross made its mark at the free throw line, finishing 18-of-18.
Entering the first half, Lafayette used six scorers to post a 15-14 advantage at 11:28.
KaiMani Murdock and
Ryan Pettit each scored from beyond the arc as part of the stretch.
The Leopards found their footing for a 14-6 run to the seven-minute mark, jumping out to a 29-20 lead. Murdock's six points fueled the burst as Lafayette went 5-for-6 from the floor.
To get to the final minute of the period, Holy Cross took an 11-5 edge to close the margin to three, 34-31.
Freshman
Christian Humphrey-Rembert sank a deep ball from the right side of the court to gain separation with 24 seconds on the clock, leading 39-34 at the break.
An 18-4 Crusader opened the second half and helped the opponents steal the momentum for a 52-43 advantage. DeAndre Williams secured a team-high eight points through the 15-minute mark.
Trailing 54-48, junior
Andrew Phillips knocked down a 3-pointer and two free throws by 14:13 to halt the Leopard skid.
Williams brought Lafayette back out front, 63-61, at the nine-minute mark with three buckets from long distance.
Holy Cross used a 12-6 spurt in the following three minutes to re-take the lead, 73-69 at 5:06, a lead it would not relinquish.
With just less than two minutes left in the game, Lafayette's Williams was granted a pair of foul shots to keep the margin at two, 75-73 (2:52).
Gabe Warren drilled a 3-pointer at 1:01 for the slim 78-75 Crusader advantage before the officials called a timeout. Phillips was Lafayette's first look out of the break for a game-tying bucket, but his 3-point attempt from the right side bounced just off the rim with 38 seconds left.
Lafayette was whistled for a foul on the next play, sending Tyler Boston to the line where he tallied two points for an 80-75 lead (0:30). Butler answered with a layup for the Leopards seven seconds later for an 80-77 deficit.
Boston closed out the game with two more free throws, as the Leopards were forced to foul, in the 82-77 final.
Warren paced the Crusaders with 23 points nine rebounds while Boston added a double-double (17 points, 14 assists). The pair contributed a combined 15 free throws.
The Leopards concluded the 2025-26 season with an 11-21 (8-10 PL) record.
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