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Lafayette defeats men's basketball in overtime thriller

With 14.7 seconds left in overtime, a center having an effective 24-point night and the opposition's two big men sitting on the bench with five fouls apiece, getting one basket in the low post seems like a fairly surmountable task.

But it wasn't that easy for the men's basketball team Saturday night. Visiting Lafayette read the play all the way, preventing a pass into sophomore center Chris Young and forcing junior guard C.J. Chapman to shoot a hurried three-pointer that hit back iron and sealed the Tigers' 70-69 loss at Jadwin Gym.

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Junior forward Nate Walton rebounded the Chapman miss – the only Tiger offensive rebound on the night – but his desperation baseline heave was well short as the buzzer sounded.

"They had [the play] pretty well figured out," Young said. "But it shouldn't have come down to that play – we should have taken care of things before that."

Young had a chance to pull Princeton (7-7) even with 50.6 seconds left in overtime at the line, after drawing Leopard center Stefan Ciosici's fifth foul. Young missed the front end of the pair of free throws, however, to keep the score favoring the visitors, 70-69.

"I missed a lot of easy shots," Young said. "Everybody can go down the line and pick out a few things we could have done better [to win]. It was only a one-point game."

Signed, sealed, delivered

Lafayette (8-4) had looked to put the game away after Chapman fouled guard Brian Ehlers with 2:07 remaining in the extra period. Ehlers – shooting 91 percent from the charity stripe this season – inexplicably missed both and gave Princeton and Young a chance to win the game.

The Tigers were keyed down the stretch in regulation by a long three-pointer from freshman guard Spencer Gloger, who connected from long range to knot the score at 63 with 2:15 remaining. Gloger had engaged in a long-range battle with Leopard guard Tyson Whitfield in the first half – with each player hitting four – but it was Gloger's clutch shot that sent the game into overtime.

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For the game, Gloger scored 21 points and shot 5 for 9 from beyond the arc. Whitfield also shot 5 for 9 from three-point land, pouring in 17 points, while Ehlers added 19.

Far away

The first half saw little inside action, with the Tigers playing a zone defense and giving up eight treys. Fifteen of the Leopards' 31 shots were from beyond 18 feet, while 10 of Princeton's 23 came from that distance.

An often sloppy battle of the big men took over in the second half, resulting in nine fouls between the three post players – Young, Ciosici and Leopard backup Frank Barr. Young's third foul with 15:27 remaining forced the Tigers to alter their game plan a little, but Young stayed aggressive, taking a charge and getting two blocks down the stretch.

Turnovers were a big problem in the second half for the Tigers. After only committing three in the first stanza, Princeton had 13 miscues in the second half and overtime. The Tigers turned three of their first four possessions over to the Leopards in the extra frame.

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"We had a stretch with a few turnovers," head coach Bill Carmody said. "I think we got a little tired. We probably could have worked a couple more guys in there."

Meanwhile, Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon used his bench liberally, rotating his starters in and out in an attempt to keep his players fresh. The Leopards substituted 59 times, compared to Princeton's five changes.

The switches paid off. Substitute guard Brian Burke came up big for Lafayette, most notably with a three pointer with 1:01 remaining in overtime that gave Lafayette the insurmountable edge. Burke ended the game with 13 points and shot 3 of 4 beyond the arc.

Time and a half

Princeton is now 2-1 in overtime games and 2-5 in games without senior forward Mason Rocca. Rocca's absense was most noticeable on the boards, with the lopsided rebounding edge favoring the Leopards, 43-27. Lafayette had 15 on the offensive glass, allowing the team to take 19 more shots than the Tigers.

But as Princeton heads into the two-week exam break sporting a .500 record without its star senior, Carmody isn't all that discouraged.

"I don't think we're that far away from being a pretty good team, even without Mason," he said. "I wish we had a little more depth and a little more strength."