Lafayette students broke out new chants and signs to support the varsity boys basketball Lancers in their home opener against rival Marquette, and their intensity was as high as ever. The home team responded with a 46-34 victory over the Mustangs and improving to 7-6 on the season.

Senior Aareon Smith set the tone early with an emphaticdunk just seconds into the game, and the Lancers coasted to a 19-5 lead early in the second quarter. The energized home crowd, which created a “white out” for the game, was clearly a factor as the Mustangs missed eight free-throws in the first quarter and were unable to settle in offensively.

Junior Joel Pennington led all scorers with 16 points, while Smith finished with 13 points. Together, Smith and Pennington hit several three-pointers that kept the game out of reach for Marquette.

Although the Mustangs cut it to 19-11 at halftime, they never seriously threatened the lead as the Lancers held junior Ryan Rosburg to zero points after he scored 20 against them on Dec. 27. The six foot, nine inch center fouled out with a minute left and was defended well by Lafayette junior Luke Kreienkamp.

Next up for the Lancers is a home game against Holt (9-2) on Jan. 20, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.