City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)

In a road test in Newark, N.J., Lafayette came up short on Saturday, falling to NJIT, 80-66.

Leopards forward Matt Klinewski had a career-high 26 points, but none of his teammates were in double-figures, including point guard Nick Lindner, who was limited to six points on 3-of-16 shooting.

At first…
The game was tightly contested for the first 14 minutes. The Leopards made three 3-pointers (two from Monty Boykins) in the first nine minutes and were right with the Highlanders for most of the first half.

Turning point…
The NJIT went on a 19-0 run. It turned a two-point game into a 44-25 lopsided affair and gave the Highlanders all of the momentum as they talked things over at halftime. Lafayette missed eight field goals and one free throw during it. Lindner hit a layup with a minute left in the half to get at least something back, but it created a large uphill battle the Leopards could not make in the final 20 minutes.

Shining stars…
Klinewski, a sophomore, had the best game of his young Lafayette career. Coming into the season it was obvious he’d have a bigger role this year, and he scored 12 points in both of Lafayette’s first two games. But on Saturday, he knocked down nine of his 15 field goal tries, went 8-for-12 from the line and also tied for a team-high with five rebounds.

For the Highlanders, Terrance Smith and Ky Howard both had 17 points and every starter scored at least 11.

Noteworthy numbers…
NJIT shot 50.9 percent from the field, while Lafayette hit 39 percent of its field goals, but just 21.4 percent of its 3-pointers. ….Lindner was held to six points after combining for 49 in the Leopards’ first two games.

Up next…
Lafayette (1-2) @ La Salle (11/23, 7 p.m.)
NJIT (3-1) @ Providence (11/23, 6:30 p.m.)