EASTON, Pa. -- A 16-0 first-half run by Lafayette was too much for the Navy men's basketball team to overcome in a 78-62 loss by the Mids (6-9, 2-2) to the Leopards (5-12, 4-0), Saturday afternoon at the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa.

"We didn't play very well," said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis. "Very disappointed in how we played, how we came out of the locker room in the first half.  We didn't come out and do the things we talked about doing.  As I told the team after the game, our focus was not what it needed to be to be successful."

Lafayette held a 16-15 lead when it scored the next 16 points to build a 32-15 advantage.  The Leopards were 7-11 from the floor, including 2-4 from three-point range, during the run while the Mids were 0-6 shooting with three turnovers during the same span.

Navy was able to cut the margin down to 10 points at halftime, 38-28.  

Austin Benigni accounted for 17 of those 28 points.  

Lafayette shot 60.7 percent from the field in the first half and Navy made 35.5 percent of its shots.

Lafayette scored the first five points of the second half to regain a 43-28 cushion.  The Leopards were able to extend their advantage to as many as 19 points at 52-33 as Navy started the stanza 3-13 from the floor and the Leopards were 7-14.

Navy chipped away at the deficit and drew to within nine points at 54-45 and 56-47.  Soon a Donovan Draper triple made it a 58-52 game with 4:50 left on the clock.  The Leopards answered on the other end with a three-point basket of their own to regain a 61-52 lead with 4:20 still to play. 

Benigni scored on a layup (61-54), then the Mids used their press to force the Leopards into throwing the ball out of bounds.  Following a media timeout, Draper was fouled and made a pair of free throws to make the score 61-56 with 3:47 remaining.

It took all of 20 seconds for Lafayette to expand its lead back to eight points (64-56) as Kyle Jenkins knocked down a three-point basket.  Benigni promptly hit a midrange jumper for the Mids (64-58), then they forced Lafayette into a shot clock violation.  Back came Navy and Mac MacDonald was fouled with 2:23 still to play.  He made just one of his two efforts from the line to again make it a five-point game at 64-59.

Just as in the previous occasion when the Mids winnowed the margin down to five points, Lafayette answered with three points on the ensuing possession -- this time on a basket and foul shot -- to push its advantage to eight at 67-59 with 1:57 showing on the clock.

An empty Navy possession was followed by Lafayette making two more foul shots to regain a 10-point lead at 69-59 with 1:39 remaining.  The same sequence repeated itself and it became a 71-59 lead for the Leopards with 90 seconds left.  

Navy could only close to as few as nine points the remainder of the game as Lafayette was 5-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch.

"Lafayette is a good team; they have guys who can score," said DeChellis.  "We didn't defend real well, and we didn't follow the offensive game plan very well."

After shooting 60 percent in the first half, Lafayette cooled down only slightly in the second half as it shot 52.2 percent in the final 20 minutes.  The Leopards also were 4-10 from three-point range and 12-17 from the foul line in the second half.

Navy's offense converted just 33.3 percent of its second half attempts from the floor, was 4-12 from three-point land and 6-9 from the charity stripe after halftime.

Lafayette ended the game shooting 56.9 percent -- a season high allowed by the Mids -- and Navy was at 34.3 percent.  

The Leopards held a slim 37-34 lead on the glass.  Though Navy held a 15-5 edge in offensive boards, that resulted in the Mids having just a 14-6 lead in second chance points scored.

Additionally, Navy committed eight turnovers and forced 14, but held only a 15-10 lead in points scored after turnovers.

Benigni totaled 21 points, four rebounds and three assists in nearly 38 minutes of playing time.  Draper posted 13 points, 14 rebounds -- six offensive -- and three steals in almost 33 minutes of court time.

Lafayette's Justin Vander Baan accrued 19 points, five rebounds and six blocks.

Navy returns home Wednesday to play host to Lehigh.