Box Score EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette scored 13 of the final 16 points in overtime to overcome a nine-point deficit to down Saint Peter's 87-86 in overtime of a non-conference men's basketball action on Sunday.
The Peacocks (1-1) scored nine unanswered points with the game tied at 74 to take an 83-74 lead with two minutes remaining powered by five points from Chazz Patterson (Brown Mills, N.J./Trenton Catholic). The Leopards then stormed back with 13 of the next 16 points. With Saint Peter's holding an 86-83 lead, Nick Lindner recorded a layup with 47 seconds left and then gave Lafayette the advantage for good on a layup with 12 seconds left. Patterson had a basket rim out with two seconds left and the Leopards came away with the win. The Peacocks had four turnovers in the final two minutes.
Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) paced the Jersey City team with a career-high 18 points, five rebounds and five assists. Patterson added a career-best 16 points and nine rebounds while Quadir Welton (Philadelphia, Pa./Math, Science and Civics Charter) tied a career-high in points (16) and rebounds (13) in the loss.
Lindner paced Lafayette with 22 points while Bryce Scott (18 points), Monty Boykins (16 points) and Matt Klinewski (12 points) also found double figures in the winning effort.
Saint Peter's hung with Lafayette throughout the game and took the lead at the end of regulation and then had a nine-point lead in overtime, but the Leopards did not want to spoil its banner raising day to celebrate its Patriot League Championship from last year and stormed back for the win.
Lafayette held the lead the whole game until Wyche scored in the lane with 48 seconds left in regulation only to see Klinewski drain two free throws to tie the game at 72 with 22 seconds left. Patterson missed a jumper in the waning seconds to send the game to overtime.
With the game tied at 74 in the extra session, Patterson powered a 9-0 run with a jumper at 4:09 before Welton scored in the lane, Patterson hit a trey and Rodney Hawkins (Baltimore, Md./Lake Clifton) capped the spurt with a jumper at the two-minute mark.
After a timeout, Lindner started the 13-3 run to end the game with a triple before Zach Rufer hit two free throws and Lindner scored in the lane.
Wyche converted a traditional 3-point play with 63 seconds left to restore an 86-81 advantage, but Lindner scored twice in the final minute to secure the win for the Leopards.
After the Peacocks opened the game by scoring seven of the first nine points thanks to four points by Welton and a trey by Antwon Portley (Lancaster, Texas/Lancaster), the Leopards went on a 29-8 run over the next eight minutes to grab a 31-15 lead with 7:08 left in the half. Scott powered the run with nine points while Lindner added seven points during the stretch.
With Lafayette holding a 35-18 lead, Saint Peter's closed the half on a 16-5 run to go into the locker room trailing 39-34. With 13 fouls called on the Leopards in the first half, the Jersey City team did most of the damage in the run from the free throw line after 7 of 8 from the charity stretch during the final 5:17 of the half. The Peacocks were 12 of 16 from the free throw line in the stanza while Patterson powered the run to end the half with five points.
The Leopards grabbed as large as an eight-point lead in the second half with 15:44 left. Saint Peter's cut into the margin and went ahead in the final minute before Lafayette tied the game and forced overtime where the Easton program won the game.
Welton has posted 16 points in all three of first road games of the year. He also posted 16 points in the season opener at LIU Brooklyn in 2013-14 and at Brown last season.
After posting 30 points in the opener on Friday, Portley scored nine points on Sunday.
Saint Peter's returns to action on Thursday at the Yanitelli Center against Hartford. Game time is 7 p.m.
