Zalys scores 21, Lafayette battles past American 84-79 in OT

WASHINGTON -- Paulius Zalys scored six of his 21 points in overtime as Lafayette battled past American on Saturday, halting a two-game slide.

Zalys added seven rebounds and six assists for Lafayette (5-12, 2-4 Patriot League), which placed five in double-digit scoring for the first time this season and pulled even with American (8-9, 2-4) in conference.

Sam Iorio scored 17 points for the Eagles, making five 3-pointers. His trey with 33 seconds left in regulation forged a 69-69 tie and led to overtime after an answering Lafayette 3 was waved off after review.

Justin Jaworski appeared to nail the game-winning 3 from the corner with 2.8 seconds left in regulation, but officials ruled the Leopards had stepped out of bounds on the pass.

Iorio hit another 3 with 14 seconds left in OT, making it 83-79 but American's Jacob Boonyasith, who hadn't taken a shot all game, missed from 3 as did Iorio's putback.

Sa'eed Nelson scored 18 with five assists for American, Stacy Beckton, Jr. also scored 18.

Lafayette scored 22 points off 19 American turnovers and the Leopards bench contributed 33 points.