Lafayette nips Loyola (Md.) 77-75 in Greyhounds' opener

EASTON, Pa. -- — Justin Jaworski had 25 points as Lafayette handed Loyola (Md.) a 77-75 season-opening loss on Saturday.

Loyola and Patriot League foe American were the last two teams who did not opt out of the full season, to get started because of the coronavirus pandemic. American, which tipped off four hours earlier, also dropped a heart-breaker, falling to Navy 88-87 in overtime.

Leo O’Boyle added 19 points for Lafayette (4-1, 4-1 Patriot League), which earned its fourth consecutive win. E.J. Stephens added 12 points. Tyrone Perry had six rebounds and six assists.

Brandon Bradsher made his first career start to open his senior year and the walk scored 21 points for the Greyhounds. Golden Dike added 15 points and eight rebounds. Jaylin Andrews had 13 points and seven rebounds.

Loyola's last lead was 10-9 and the Greyhounds trailed by 16 with 12 minutes to play. Bradsher scored 12 points down the stretch and Loyola went 8 of 13 with three 3-pointers.

The game became a free throw contest with Lafayette, which was 2 of 14 from the field with five turnovers over after building its big league, went 11 of 12 from the foul line. Loyola was 11 of 16. Bradsher was the last player at the line and he made his first one and missed his second on purpose and although a Greyhound got a hand on the ball, the top sailed wide.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com