Robby McKittrick Sports Communications & Journalism Portfolio

Any fan of a college basketball team knows that the regular season is nice to watch, but it is all about winning your league tournament and earning a March Madness bid. That is the attitude of Lafayette fans as the men’s team heads into the Patriot League Tournament with the second worst seed in the bracket. Lafayette will play at Loyola Maryland, the 7th seed, on Tuesday, Feb. 28. The winner of that game will then play at Boston University on Thursday, March 2. The Leopards finished the season with a conference record of 5-13 and an overall record of 9-20. However, they finished 3-3 in their last 6 games and ended the season on a positive note with a win over Colgate 73-69 on Saturday afternoon. Although it is not impossible for Lafayette to win this tournament, like they did two years ago, the road will not be easy. First up is Loyola. Lafayette split the season series with them, and this should be a very winnable game. Loyola is not overly talented, and

When the Leopards give the ball to Nick Lindner with the game on the line, he usually comes through for the team. This simple end of game strategy has worked for Lafayette on endless occasions. But on Tuesday night’s Patriot League Tournament’s first-round matchup against Loyola Maryland, it did not. With one minute remaining in the game, Lafayette was trailing 65-64. Lafayette Coach Fran O’Hanlon called the usual late game play: a pick and roll play with Linder and Matt Klinewski. Lindner declined the screen from Klinewski and beat his man to the right side. But this time he missed. We have seen Lindner make this shot on endless occasions throughout his career. But when it mattered most for Lafayette this season, the roll did not go Linder’s way. But this was still not the end of the game. With a stop and a score, Lafayette could still win. Lafayette stopped Loyola on the next possession, forcing a tough shot and a miss. Still down 65-64, Lafayette h