EASTON, Pa. –
Golden Dike scored a career-high 21 points, and
Deon Perry added a game-high 22, as a depleted Loyola University Maryland men's basketball topped Lafayette College, 79-64, on the road at the Kirby Sports Center Wednesday night.
The Greyhounds opened the game with only six scholarship players against the Leopards who entered as the second-place team in the Patriot League.
Led by Perry and Dike, four Greyhounds scored 11 or more points.
Jordan Stiemke logged a career-high for the second game in a row, going 6 of 11 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range to finish with 18 points.
Tyson Commander scored 11 points with his last three coming in the final three minutes on free throws to help secure the win.
Dike had his eighth career double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds. The 21 points eclipsed his previous best of 18 that came in his fourth career game. He had 18 on November 17, 2019, against Fairfield University.
Loyola took a double-digit lead less than eight minutes into the game after Perry came up with a steal and hit a 3-pointer in transition.
Lafayette pulled within five on a basket with 7:10 left in the first half, but the Greyhounds did not allow it to draw closer. Perry made a three with 2:37 remaining in the half, and then Stiemke connected on a three at 1:06 to make it a 31-17 lead.
Dike scored in the paint with 22 ticks on the clock, and the Greyhounds denied Lafayette a basket before the halftime horn to lead 33-17 at the break.
Stiemke scored the first five points of the second half, wrapped around a Lafayette basket by Devin Hines, and Loyola's lead was 19, 38-19.
The Greyhounds held a lead of 11 or more for the majority of the half until Lafayette's Eric Sondberg made a three at 2:10 to cut the gap to eight, 69-61.
Stiemke made three free throws over the next 50 seconds, however, as Loyola was 9 of 10 from the line in the final two minutes to secure the iwn.
Loyola had a 40-30 advantage on the glasss. After Dike's 13, Stiemke had a career-high eight, and
David Brown III grabbed seven.
The Greyhounds will return to the Lehigh Valley on Saturday, February 17, for a 2 p.m. game at Lehigh University.
