NCAA
Lafayette 61, Loyola (Maryland) 44
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Junior forward Dan Trist came off the bench to score 14 points, leading Lafayette to a 61-44 victory over visiting Loyola (Maryland) on Wednesday at Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa.
Junior guard Seth Hinrichs added 13 points and seven rebounds to help Lafayette (7-17, 3-10 Patriot League) earn its third win in four games. Freshman forward Michael Hoffman had nine points and four blocked shots.
Sophomore forward Franz Rassman and junior guard R.J. Williams scored 10 points apiece for Loyola, which has lost six of its last eight.
The tipoff was moved up two hours in anticipation of a winter storm that was expected to hit the region.
Loyola and Lafayette exchanged leads a number of times throughout in the opening half. The Greyhounds (10-14, 5-8) took a 16-15 advantage on a jumper by Rassman with 11:28 remaining, but the Leopards reclaimed the lead on a layup by freshman guard Monty Boykins with 10:18 to go.
Loyola tied the game at 21-21 when freshman forward Nick Gorski made a layup with 2:46 remaining, but Lafayette closed the half with a 5-1 run to take a 27-22 lead into the locker room at the break. The Leopards shot 52.2 percent from the field in the first half while holding the Greyhounds to 43.5 percent shooting.
Loyola trailed by four after sophomore guard Tyler Hubbard made a 3-pointer with 19:24 to go in the second half, but then Lafayette began to pull away.
The Leopards mounted a 13-2 run capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore guard Zach Rufer, who gave his team a 42-27 lead with 16:36 remaining. The Leopards later staged a 9-0 run to go up 51-30 with 11:56 to play, and they led by as many as 24 points later in the half.
Lafayette wound up making half of its 50 shots, while Loyola shot 33.3 percent (16-for-48).
