Even with dozens of Lafayette students wearing tropical clothing, it was no day at the beach as the Lancers fell 50-46 to Marquette in the District semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 24.

For a second straight game, the Lancers were tested in their ability to bounce back from adversity. Despite being down 27-16 at halftime and trailing by 13 in the second half, the team went on a late run and fell just short of its 12th straight win.

Juniors Nick Messer and Joel Pennington both made late jump shots to make it 48-46 in the final minute, but Marquette freshman Garret Roberts iced the game with two free throws that ended Lafayette’s season.

The home crowd, which was electric from start to finish, started to gain hope when junior Jared Webber cut the lead to 45-41 with two three-pointers early in the fourth quarter. Webber finished with a career-high eight points.

The game was the third meeting between the two teams this season. After the Lancers held Marquette’s 6 foot 9 inch center Ryan Rosburg scoreless in a victory on Jan. 14, he responded with a game-high 20 points and dominated under the basket.

On the offensive end, senior Aareon Smith was outsized and limited to just four points. Junior Luke Kreienkamp led the Lancers with 12 points and Pennington, who played most of game with an apparent leg injury, added 11 points.

“It was disappointing. I played on [the ankle] and it was fine, but it just gave out. It was just hard on me and my teammates. I couldn’t really do much,” Pennington said.

With the loss, Lafayette finished 18-8 on the season. The team tied with Oakville for the Suburban West title and will lose seniors Smith, Reid Leonard and Will Montgomery next year.

“Everyone was really close this year. Everybody got along; we never gave up and played hard. [I’m most proud of being] Conference champs,” Montgomery said.