Lafayette wins 2015 Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship - Mar 12, 2015

Leopards hold off American 65-63 for first title since 2000, third in school history
Lafayette went ahead for good with under five minutes to play and held on down the stretch to beat American 65-63 and win the Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship on Wednesday at Kirby Sports Center.
The #4 seed Leopards win their third title in school history, and first since going back-to-back in 1999 and 2000. Lafayette also moves to 20-12 for its first 20-win campaign since the 2000 season, and earns the Patriot League's automatic berth to the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.
The Leopards held a 12-point lead in the second half only to see the #6 seed Eagles (17-16) storm back with a 17-3 run to grab a 55-53 lead on Marko Vasic (6'5''-F)'s three-point play with 5:08 to go. Lafayette went right back ahead on the next possession as Seth Hinrichs (6'8''-G-93) drained a three-pointer with 4:30 to go for a 56-55 advantage.
Both teams missed multiple shots in the next two minutes, but Zach Rufer (6'3''-G-94) came up with two big plays for the Leopards as he extended a possession with an offensive rebound and then buried a three-pointer with 2:16 left for a four-point lead at 59-55.
Vasic hit a pair of free throws while Dan Trist (6'9''-F-92) answered with a layup on the next two possessions, but American cut the Lafayette lead to 61-60 when Peewee Gardner (5'7''-PG) drained a three-pointer with 1:06 left in the game. The Leopards put the ball back in Lindner's hands, and the sophomore came through as he converted a layup for a 63-60 lead with 38 seconds left.
American got the ball back and had a good chance to tie, but John Schoof (6'5''-G)'s three-pointer was off the mark with 13 seconds left on the clock. Lindner followed by making both ends of a 1-and-1 to seal the win for the Leopards, with Gardner adding a three-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin. "We know the championship game is the hardest to win having been here before," said Lafayette Head Coach Fran O'Hanlon . "We rose to the challenge and hit some big shots at the end to pull it out. I'm really proud of these guys."
American took the early lead, but Lafayette used an 11-0 run to go ahead 23-15 with 7:51 left in the first half. The Leopards would close the half with an 11-4 stretch as they opened up a 34-25 lead at the half.
The Leopards went on a 10-4 run in the second half to open up a 50-38 lead with 10:57 left, only to see American surge back into the game with a 17-2 run and set up the fantastic finish.
"We have good veteran leadership and we told everyone to settle down and stay composed," said Lindner on American's run.
Lindner led the Leopards with 25 points while shooting 9-of-13 from the field and was named Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable Player for an outstanding performance in Lafayette's three contests. The sophomore guard averaged 23.7 points after scoring 23 in the Leopards' quarterfinal win over #5 Boston University and semifinal victory at top-seed Bucknell.
Hinrichs scored 16 points while making 7-of-8 shots on Wednesday as the pair combined for 41 of the 65 for Lafayette. Hinrichs joined Lindner on the All-Tournament Team for Lafayette along with fellow senior Trist, who had six points and seven rebounds in the title game.
Lafayette set a Patriot League Championship game record by going 64.9% from the field as it made 24-of-37 shots in the contest. The Leopards finished the Patriot League Tournament with a field-goal percentage of 60.1% (86/143), setting a tourney record by shattering the previous mark of 54.2% (103/190) set by Holy Cross in 1993.
The Leopards also made eight three-pointers in the title game, and their 31 three-pointers in the Tournament bested the record of 25 hit previously by three teams, including Lafayette in 2013.
Lafayette held a 24-17 edge on the boards, and needed its shooting and rebounding numbers to overcome 18 turnovers in the contest.
All five American starters scored in double figures, led by Vasic with 15 points. Charlie Jones (6'4''-G) (14), Gardner (13), Jesse Reed (6'5''-G) (11) and Schoof (10) also hit double digits as the starters accounted for all of the team's scoring for the second straight game and combined for all but one minute played in the contest. Gardner and Reed made the All-Tournament Team for the Eagles.
American shot just under 50 percent for the game at 24-of-49, and hit a good night from three-point range with a 10-of-18 clip.
Both teams were playing in their seventh Patriot League Championship, and are now both 3-4 in the title game. Lafayette snapped a three-game losing skid that included defeats on the road in 2010, 2011 and 2013, while defending champion American had won its past three trips to the championship.
The Leopards become the lowest seed to win the Patriot League title at #4, as 18 top seeds and six #2 seeds had won the previous 24 crowns. It was the first time that the top seed did not play in the title game after Lafayette won 80-74 at Bucknell on Sunday.
O'Hanlon became the third coach to win three Patriot League titles, joining Holy Cross' Ralph Willard (4) and Navy's Don DeVoe (3). O'Hanlon has led Lafayette to each of its seven League title contests.
Lafayette improved to 10-0 at home in the Patriot League Tournament, and all of its title-game victories have come at Kirby Sports Center.

Courtesy of PatriotLeague

Patriot League Tournament Final: Lafayette - American 65-63
Patriot League Tournament Semifinals:
Lafayette - Bucknell 80-74
American - Colgate 73-62