Lafayette beats American in Patriot League Tournament

Feb 28, 2018, 03:18 am

EASTON, Pa. -- Matt Klinewski scored 23 points and Justin Jaworski hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range and finished with 20 points to help Lafayette beat American 93-86 on Tuesday night in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament.

Alex Petrie added 17 points and Eric Stafford 12 for seventh-seeded Lafayette (10-20). The Leopards will play at No. 2 seed Colgate in the quarterfinals. Lafayette swept the regular-season series against the Raiders.

Kyle Stout's 3-pointer gave the Leopards a 13-point lead with 12 minutes to go but American (6-23), the No. 10 seed, answered with two 3s in a 36-second span and Sa'eed Nelson's layup to trim the deficit to 81-78 with three minutes to go. Eric Stafford's 3-pointer with 1:25 left gave the Leopards a six-point lead and they made 7 of 8 free throws from there to seal it.

Nelson had a career-high 41 points -- tied for fourth most on American's all-time single-game scoring list. The sophomore also tied his career best with nine assists and was 14-of-20 shooting.

Both teams shot at least 84 percent from the free-throw line, but Lafayette made eight more free throws (21) than the Eagles.