Lafayette upends champion Bucknell 80-74 in Patriot semis

Mar 8, 2016, 06:08 pm

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Nick Lindner scored 22 points and Dan Trist added 21 on Sunday to lead fourth-seeded Lafayette to an 80-74 upset of top-seeded Bucknell in the Patriot League semifinals.

The Leopards (19-12) won at Sojka Pavilion for the first time in a tournament game and their second all-time.

Lafayette hosts sixth-seeded American University, which knocked off second-seeded Colgate 73-62, next Wednesday for the championship.

Joey Ptasinski added 18 points and Bryce Scott 11 for the Leopards.

Lafayette took the lead midway through the second half and denied the Bison (19-14) an 11th championship game appearance because of great shooting (26 of 49, 53.1 percent), even better free throw shooting (21 of 24) and just four turnovers.

The Leopards made 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute.

Ryan Frazier led Bucknell with 22 points. Chris Hass had 19 and Zach Thomas 15.