BALTIMORE – History repeated itself on Sunday night as the Loyola University Maryland men's basketball team found itself trailing by double-digits in the second half only to rally and fall short by two points for the second day in a row.
 
Lafayette College (5-1 overall) held on for a 72-70 Patriot League victory Sunday night in Reitz Arena, just over 24 hours after it beat the Greyhounds (0-2), 77-75, in Easton, Pennsylvania.
 
Santi Aldama scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second half with nine of those points coming in the game's final 7-minutes, 16-seconds of regulation.
 
He also had seven rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal while shooting 9 of 12 from the field.
 
Brandon Bradsher, a walk-on making his second career start, made 5 of 10 shots to finish with 12 points. His final three came from behind the arc with less than two minutes to play, making it a one-point game.
 
After a Golden Dike dunk off an Aldama assist at 17:38 in the second half tied the game at 37-37, Lafayette stretched its lead to nine, 54-45, over the next five-plus minutes. A Justin Jaworski jumper with 5:58 showing pushed the advantage to 64-54, but Loyola scored 10 of the next 12 points to close within two.
 
Aldama and Jaylin Andrews had baskets in the paint to start the 10-2 run, and in transition, Aldama threw ahead to Dike for a twisting layup with 3:31 left that cut it to 66-62.
 
An airballed Lafayette 3-pointer gave the Greyhounds possession back, and Loyola had an elongated possession thanks to a pair of offensive rebounds. Aldama missed a three that was rebounded by Andrews who immediately flipped a pass back to Aldama crashing down the lane for a one-handed dunk.
 
Lafayette called a timeout after that play that made it 66-64, and the Leopards got a pair on an E.J. Stephens layup, but Bradsher's second three of the game at 1:41 made it a one-point game.
 
Jaworski responded with a jumper as the shot clock expired, and Aldama made 1 of 2 at the free-throw line for Loyola. Stephens got free in the paint for two, pushing the advantage back to four, but Wade Jackson scored a layup on the left-side of the rim to make it 72-70 Leopards with just over 14 ticks on the clock.
 
Loyola fouled Jaworski, but the Lafayette guard missed the front-end of one-and-one. Aldama corralled the rebound, and Loyola called a timeout in the frontcourt with less than eight seconds to play.
 
Aldama got a look from three on the left side, but it caromed off the rim, and Lafayette held on for its second-straight two-point victory.
 
All 10 players who played for Loyola scored in the game. Dike added seven points, while Andrews had six. Alonso Faure and Brent Holcome each tallied five points. Each Loyola player also had at least one rebound, and Loyola controlled a 35-28 advantage on the boards.
 
The Greyhounds are back in action next weekend with a pair of games against American University.