Before its playoff game against Holy Cross on Tuesday night, the men’s basketball team had lost seven 1-score or overtime games this season. So when the Crusaders held a 2-point lead with 6.8 seconds left in the game, the Leopards’ season seemed doomed to end on another heartbreaker.
That was until freshman guard Alex Chaikin drew a foul for two free throws.
He made the first, and the next basket would tie the game. The shot went up and popped off the back iron twice. Three players contested the tip, but it was sophomore guard Andrew Phillips who deflected the ball to freshman guard Caleb Williams under the basket. Williams was fouled with 4.4 seconds to play and now had the chance to take the lead.
He sank both free throws, nothing but net, and sent the Maroon and White to the Patriot League quarterfinals.
Despite the pressure, Williams said he felt “comfortable” lining up for the free throws.
“If it wasn’t for AP getting that tip, I wasn’t gonna get that rebound,” Williams said about Phillips. “So when I got to the line, I was just like, ‘I have to make these.’”
The Leopards (7-11 Patriot League, 13-19 overall) successfully flipped the script after losing a 1-score game at Boston University (10-8 Patriot League, 16-15 overall) on Saturday.
After the Terriers controlled much of the first half, the Leopards clawed their way back in the second, leading to eight lead changes coming down the stretch.
However, the Maroon and White struggled from the free throw line, shooting for only 61.1%.
With the shot clock turned off, BU drove down the court and sank a pull-up jumper at the free-throw line, taking a 66-64 lead. Despite a half-court attempt from Williams, the Leopards suffered another close defeat to finish their regular season.
The Maroon and White were coming off a Feb. 19 overtime loss to Holy Cross (5-13 Patriot League, 13-19 overall) on the road coming into Tuesday.
Although the Maroon and White could control the momentum for much of the first half, Holy Cross found success around the perimeter by making six out of its 10 attempted 3-pointers.
Vander Baan noted that the Leopards were trying to neutralize the long ball coming into the game.
“Obviously, we didn’t do a great job of that tonight, but thankfully, we made the plays on our offensive end,” Vander Baan said.
Paired with a struggling Lafayette 3-point offense that shot for only 27.3% in the first half, the Crusaders marched into the locker room with a 36-31 lead.
Despite double-digit first-half performances from Chaikin and Vander Baan, Holy Cross effectively neutralized Williams and Phillips and gave Lafayette’s offense very little space to step back and shoot.
“I think obviously we knew we weren’t hitting as many shots as we usually do, and Justin was playing a great game,” Chaikin said. “In timeouts, we kept on saying, ‘Get it inside, and let’s play off that.’”
Vander Baan put up a season high on Tuesday, with 25 points.
Leopards began to cut into the deficit in the third quarter, and a finish through contact off of a steal for Williams narrowed the gap to one point and blew the roof off of Kirby Sports Center.
Although the Maroon and White went up by as many as seven points with just under 10 minutes to play, the Crusaders continued to build momentum beyond the 3-point line.
Following a few costly turnovers, the Leopards found themselves down once again going into the final minutes of the game. However, they were able to capitalize on sloppy defense from Holy Cross to get the crucial free throws at the end of the game.
With 4.4 seconds remaining, the Crusaders still had a chance for a Hail Mary. Williams said Holy Cross switched the play call coming out of a timeout, forcing the Leopards to “scramble” for coverage.
“Thank God that we all on the same page,” Williams said.
Three members of the team were recognized in the Patriot League’s regular season awards. Vander Baan won Defensive Player of the Year and made the All-Defensive and Third Team All-League. Chaikin was named to the All-Rookie Team and the Third Team All-League. Williams was also named to the All-Rookie team.
“We were due for one, for sure,” Vander Baan said. “It feels good, but you know, enjoy this one for 20 minutes, and then onto the next.”
The Leopards faced second-seeded American University (13-5 Patriot League, 19-12 overall) in the quarterfinals on Thursday in Washington.
The men’s basketball team plays American University after The Lafayette’s publication deadline on March 6. Quarterfinal results will be updated online.
