NCAA News Wire
Lafayette 91, Susquehanna 66
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
Meeting for the first time in four years, the red-hot Lafayette Leopards took down the Susquehanna University Crusaders on Tuesday night, 91-66, in Easton, Pa., for its fourth straight win.
The game stayed close for the first 10 minutes, but Leopards used a 29-9 run during the final part of the first half and raced out to a 58-34 edge by halftime.
Lafayette (7-2) was led by a team-high 16 points each from forward Dan Trist and guard Bryce Scott. Trist also chipped in six rebounds, while forward Seth Hinrichs added 14 points and Joey Ptasinski finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Leopards also got a team-high 11 rebounds from forward Matt Klinewski, who notched nine points in the win.
The Crusaders (6-3), who lost their second straight, were led by guard Brandon Hedley’s game-high 19 points, but he was the only Susquehanna player to reach double figures. Guard Matt McGugan added nine points and forward Danny Weiss had a team-high six rebounds in the loss for the Crusaders.
Lafayette out-rebounded Susquehanna 45-17 and was 16 of 17 from the free throw line. Both teams committed 11 turnovers.
Susquehanna, which plays in Division III as a member of the Landmark Conference, will be the only non-division I team the Leopards will play this year. After Tuesday’s win, Lafayette — which last played the Crusaders in 2010 — is 7-0 against Division II and III opponents.
The Leopards, who improved to 2-0 this season at home, will next face their toughest opponent on the schedule all year — No. 10 Kansas in Lawrence on Dec. 20.
Susquehanna gets almost two weeks off before its next game Dec. 29 against Rutgers-Camden.
