Lafayette thumps La Salle, 90-65, in a rare victory against Fran Dunphy
The Leopards beat a Dunphy-coached team for just the third time.
Philly native Mike Jordan, now the coach at Lafayette, received an early Christmas present Wednesday as his Leopards dispatched La Salle, 90-65, at Tom Gola Arena.
Jordan, the former Penn guard, and Ivy League player of the year in 1999-2000, utilized a man-to-man defense to stymie the Explorers, who struggled to find their shots.
The loss was La Salle coach Fran Dunphy’s third ever to Lafayette. Dunphy has a 16-3 career mark against the Leopards (15-2 as coach of Penn, 1-0 as Temple coach, 0-1 with La Salle).
“I couldn’t be more proud of a former player, now coach. Lafayette, they did everything right,” Dunphy said.
Statistical leaders
The Explorers (5-7) were led by Khalil Brantley with 14 points and Josh Nickelberry with 10. Anwar Gill and Hassan Drame added seven points apiece.
CJ Fulton led Lafayette (2-11) with a career-high 20 points while Leo O’Boyle (13), Josh Rivera (12), and T.J. Berger (10) also scored in double figures for the Leopards, who shot 61.5% from the field and 57.7% on three-pointers.
What we saw
The Leopards got a jump on the Explorers, hitting early shots from deep. After the Explorers went scoreless for three minutes to start the game, Nickelberry sank a step-back three-pointer and Fousseyni Drame made a steal and capitalized on two foul shots, pulling the Explorers within four.
However, the Leopards found a way to pull away. Midway through the first half, Lafayette opened a 10-point lead and held a 45-30 advantage at the break.
The Explorers showed vigor early in the second half, but the Leopards answered swiftly, going on a 6-0 run. Both teams entered foul trouble, which the Leopards continued to capitalize on, expanding their lead.
Game-changing play
As the Explorers tried to crawl back behind Nickelberry and Brantley, Lafayette saw success from sophomore guard Fulton, who went 6-for-7 from deep. Justin Vander Baan and Rivera continued to be key scorers in the paint as Lafayette opened a 16-point lead with 10 minutes left to play.
Up next
The Explorers visit Howard on Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. (ESPN+).