With the score tied a 63-all with 9:44 left the host Leopards (1-2) scored five straight points before Alvernia junior Garrett Etzel (Shillington, PA/Governor Mifflin) hit one of his three 3s. Brown answered Etzel’s 3 with one of his own and nailed a his final 3 of the night as the shot clock sounded with 1:21 left capping the 21-7 run that left Lafayette up 84-70.
Alvernia senior Chris Talley (Royersford, PA/Spring Ford) dropped his only 3 of the night assisted by Lamar Brickus (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) on the Crusaders’ next possession and the guests scored 10 of the final 12 to pull within six at the final horn.
Brickus and fellow senior Mike Brock (Royersford, PA/Spring Ford) hit early 3s for Alvernia as it jumped out to a 9-6 lead. The Crusaders held the three point edge after a Brickus steal and layup at the 13:33 mark made the score 15-12. Lafayette quickly took the lead back with an 8-0 run capped by back-to-back 3s from cousins Pat Betley (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Mem.) and Matt Betley (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape).
Lafayette pushed its lead to 14 points with 6:19 left in the opening half when Paul Cummins (Kildare, Ire./South Kent School), one of five Leopards to connect from behind the arc, nailed one of his four 3s. Cummins and Brown hit nine of 17 shots on the night, all from behind the arc. Alvernia closed the gap to 10 points at 39-29 with 3:41 left in the first and went to the locker room down 11, 45-34.
Alvernia sophomore Damon Bogan (Oxford, PA/Oxford), who finished with a game-high 20 points opened the second half with a steal and a bucket and capped an 11-3 Alvernia run that left the Crusaders down three, 48-45. The teams traded buckets a few times before a Cummins’ 3 pushed the gap to eight with 15:27 left in the game. The lead remained eight, 59-51, with 13:13 left before an Etzel 3 sparked a 10-1 run capped by a steal and layup from junior Ryan Finger (Lancaster, PA/Strasburg) that forged a 61-all tie with 10:25 to play.
Lafayette sophomore Everest Schmidt (Orleans, CA/Hoopa Valley) dropped a pair of free throws and Zach Straining (Paxtang, PA/Central Dauphin East) converted a layup before Lafayette sophomore Ted Detmer (Scarsdale, NY/Scarsdale) scored two of his nine to start the 21-7 deciding run.
Four Crusaders joined Bogan in double figures. Talley totaled 14, Straining had 13, Etzel 12, and Brickus finished with 11 points and a team-high five assists. The Leopards also had five players in double figures led by Brown’s career-high 15.
Newspaper Box Score Alvernia vs Lafayette 11/22/05 7:00 p.m. at Easton, Pa. -- Kirby Sports Center At Easton, Pa. -- Kirby Sports Center LAFAYETTE 86, ALVERNIA 80 ALVERNIA (2-1) Damon Bogan 8-13 3-4 20; Chris Talley 5-12 3-3 14; Zach Straining 5-11 3-6 13; Garrett Etzel 4-7 1-1 12; Lamar Brickus 5-12 0-2 11; Ryan Finger 3-4 1-2 7; Mike Brock 1-6 0-0 3; Tyrone Bradley 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-67 11-18 80. LAFAYETTE (1-2) Brown, Andrew 5-8 0-1 15; Betley, Pat 5-7 0-1 13; Schmidt, Everest 5-11 2-2 12; Cummins, Paul 4-9 0-1 12; Abdullah, Bilal 2-8 6-7 11; Detmer, Ted 4-10 1-2 9; Betley, Matt 2-3 3-3 8; Capusan, Andrei 2-4 2-2 6. Totals 29-60 14-19 86. Alvernia...................... 34 46 - 80 Lafayette..................... 45 41 - 86 3-point goals-Alvernia 7-23 (Garrett Etzel 3-5; Chris Talley 1-4; Lamar Brickus 1-4; Damon Bogan 1-3; Mike Brock 1-4; Zach Straining 0-3), Lafayette 14-30 (Brown, Andrew 5-8; Cummins, Paul 4-9; Betley, Pat 3-5; Abdullah, Bilal 1-5; Betley, Matt 1-2; Detmer, Ted 0-1). Fouled out--Alvernia-None, Lafayette-None. Rebounds-Alvernia 36 (Zach Straining 9), Lafayette 38 (Schmidt, Everest 10). Assists-Alvernia 15 (Lamar Brickus 5), Lafayette 21 (Abdullah, Bilal 6). Total fouls-Alvernia 18, Lafayette 17. A-607