Jan. 4, 2010

Center Valley, Pa. - The Patriot League men's basketball schedule begins on Saturday, and all eight League teams have at least one more game of preparation over the next three days. The squads combined for a strong past week, with six teams winning their first game after the New Year. Navy and Lehigh each won multiple games last week, and were rewarded for their efforts as Navy's Jordan Sugars was named the Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week and Lehigh's Gabe Knutson took home the Rookie of the Week award.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 1.4.10

Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week (Dec. 28-Jan. 3)

Jordan Sugars, Navy So., G, 6'3, 210, Winchester, Va./Millbrook
Sugars had two outstanding efforts in Navy victories last week, scoring a career-high 27 points with seven rebounds in a 78-75 win over Coppin State on Wednesday and totaling his fourth double-double of the year with 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 79-73 triumph over Elon on Saturday. Sugars made a career-high seven three-pointers in the win over Coppin State, including the game-winning shot with 0.7 seconds left on the clock to give Navy the three-point victory. He also tied a career-high with three steals in the game. Against Elon, Sugars added a career-high three assists and two steals to his double-double performance. Sugars averaged 23.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in the two games, while shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range. He is in the top three in the Patriot League with 15.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game for the season, and is the top rebounder in the country for a player standing 6-foot-3 or shorter. Sugars earns his second Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week award this year, joining teammate Chris Harris as a multiple winner of the honor. Sugars and Harris are the first teammates to win multiple Player of the Week awards in the same year since American's Andre Ingram and Jason Thomas in the 2004-05 campaign.

Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Dec. 28-Jan. 3)

Gabe Knutson, Lehigh Fr., F, 6'9, 210, Urbandale, Iowa/Waukee
Knutson takes home his first Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week award after helping the Mountain Hawks to a 3-0 record last week. His top effort came in Lehigh's final game of the week on Saturday, as Knutson scored a career-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting and pulled down four rebounds in an 86-79 win over NJIT. He posted six points and nine rebounds in a win over Longwood on Monday, and eight points and eight boards in an overtime triumph at Delaware State on Wednesday. Knutson averaged 12.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in the three games, making 68 percent (15-of-22) of his shots from the field and 7-of-10 from the foul line. Knutson is fifth in the Patriot League with 6.7 rebounds per game this season.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Kyle Roemer, Colgate Sr., G/F, 6'3, 214, Martinez, Calif./De La Salle
Roemer tallied a career-high 38 points in a 95-80 win over Longwood. It matched the highest for a Patriot League player since Lehigh's Joe Knight scored 45 in the 2005 Patriot League quarterfinals. Roemer was 14-of-21 from the field in the game, 5-of-9 from three-point range and 5-of-5 from the line. He became the first Colgate player with more than 35 points since Mark Linebaugh against Holy Cross in 2003.

C.J. McCollum, Lehigh Fr., G, 6'3, 165, Canton, Ohio/Glen Oak
McCollum averaged 18.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in three Lehigh wins last week. He scored 16 points or more in every game, including a 21-point effort on Monday at Longwood.

Nick Hendra, American Jr., G, 6'3, 205, New York, N.Y./Xavier
Hendra had 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in American's loss to Florida on Monday, then tallied a career-high 18 points in a win at Brown on Saturday.

Patriot League Notebook

Celebrating the New Year in Style
Patriot League teams opened the 2010 year with thrilling wins and outstanding individual performances over the weekend, as the eight squads combined for a 6-2 record. Earning the victories were American, Navy, Lehigh, Holy Cross, Colgate and Lafayette. On Saturday, the Eagles won at Brown, 76-68, the Mids defeated Elon, 79-73, the Mountain Hawks topped NJIT, 86-79, the Crusaders beat Central Connecticut State, 70-53, and Colgate took down Longwood, 95-80. Lafayette defeated Penn, 77-62, on Sunday. Patriot League teams put together an overall mark of 10-9 in last week's games, with Lehigh and Navy each winning multiple games. The Mountain Hawks beat Longwood, 89-78, on Monday and Delaware State, 73-66, on Wednesday in overtime, while the Mids knocked off Coppin State, 78-75. Bucknell provided the other victory, a 70-67 overtime triumph over Marist.

Final Tune-Ups Before League Play Begins
The Patriot League schedule tips off on Saturday, so each team has little time and game action remaining to get ready for the 14-game march through the League. Every team plays at least one more non-League game this week, with Colgate hitting the court twice by hosting Central Connecticut State on Monday and North Carolina Central on Wednesday. Lehigh, Army and Lafayette will also play a home game, while Bucknell, Holy Cross, American and Navy go on the road over the next three days. The 2009-10 non-League schedule ends on Wednesday, as the teams look to build on an overall record of 44-66 thus far.

Dramatic Finishes Last Week
Easily the most exciting and successful week for the Patriot League in the 2009-10 season featured three overtime games and a buzzer-beater. Navy's Jordan Sugars provided the regulation drama by hitting a three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to lead the Mids past Coppin State, 78-75, on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, Bucknell's Bryan Cohen nailed a game-winning three with 20 seconds left and sealed a 70-67 overtime win over Marist with two free throws in the final seconds. Lehigh earned a 73-66 overtime win at Delaware State by using a 17-4 run to come back from a 10-point deficit with less than nine minutes left in regulation.

Roemer with a Scoring Explosion
Colgate's Kyle Roemer put up 38 points in the Raiders' 95-80 win over Longwood. It was the first time since the 2005-06 season that a Patriot League player scored 38 points, and no Patriot Leaguer has topped the number since Lehigh's Joe Knight put up 45 in the 2005 Patriot League Quarterfinals. Colgate's 95-point output was its highest against a Division I opponent since 2001.

Lehigh Getting Hot at Right Time
Lehigh has the best streak as the schedule approaches Patriot League play, as the Mountain Hawks have won four games in a row after a 3-0 mark last week. It is their second winning streak of at least three games this year. Army and Lafayette also have two winning streaks of at least three games, while Bucknell is the only other Patriot League team that has done it once. The Black Knights and Leopards each had their latest win streak snapped last week.

Local Rivals Looking Alike
With campus separated by less than 15 miles, Lafayette and Lehigh are always looking for a leg up on each other. But the schools really are similar this year. Each team is 8-6 overall, with a 5-1 home mark and 3-5 road record. Lehigh averages a League-best 71.7 points per game, with Lafayette a shade behind at 71.6. They are also 1-2 in the League in assists, assist/turnover raio and three-point field goal percentage, with Lafayette leading the latter two categories. They have played two common opponents, each beating St. Francis (Pa.) and NJIT.

Army, Lafayette Leading the Categories
There are 19 team categories in the Patriot League statistics, and Army and Lafayette combine to lead most of them. Despite a pair of losses last week, Army is still clearly the top defensive team in non-League play. The Black Knights are first in the Patriot League in scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage defense, three-point field goal percentage defense, steals and turnover margin. The Black Knights also led the way in rebounding defense. Lafayette has the advantage in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, three-point field goal percentage, blocked shots and assist/turnover ratio.

Northeast Rivals
The Patriot League has clinched the season series with the Northeast Conference, holding a 16-7 advantage with Colgate's game against Central Connecticut State on Monday wrapping up the series. The Patriot League also has opened up a 10-6 lead over the Ivy League, with five games still coming in the next three days.

Four for the Record Books
Four Patriot League seniors hold a spot in the League's record book, with three of them earning a place in multiple categories. Colgate's Kyle Roemer, Lehigh's Marquis Hall and Navy's Chris Harris are engaged in a competitive race for the active Patriot League scoring lead. Roemer took the lead on Saturday with his 38-point effort against Longwood, and now stands 36th in League annals with 1,308 points. Hall is right behind with 1,298, while Harris is in 41st place with 1,284 points. Lehigh's Zahir Carrington became the League's 70th 1,000-point scorer last week, and now has 1,016 points. Hall and Harris are each in the top ten in another category, with Hall ninth in League annals with 454 assists and Harris 10th with 241 three-pointers. Each player became the school record-holder in those categories last week. Carrington is part of the 500-rebound club as well, standing 36th all-time with 545 rebounds. Roemer is just outside the top 10 in three-point field goals made and three-point percentage.

Scoring Duos
Navy and Colgate continue to get solid production from their prolific scoring duos. The teams boast four of the top five scorers in the Patriot League, with Navy's Chris Harris (20.1) first, Colgate's Kyle Roemer (17.7 ppg) second, Navy's Jordan Sugars (15.7) third and Colgate's Yaw Gyawu (14.7) fifth.

Coaching Milestones
Colgate's Emmett Davis and Navy's Billy Lange became the latest Patriot League coaches to hit milestones over the weekend. Davis won his 150th career game, all at Colgate, and Lange claimed his 75th win in Annapolis on Saturday. Earlier, Lafayette Head Coach Fran O'Hanlon recorded his 200th career victory and became the all-time Patriot League leader in overall games coached. American Head Coach Jeff Jones is within two wins of 300 for his career, and notched his 150th at the school earlier in the year. Bucknell's Dave Paulsen is one win shy of 275 for his career.

Super Sophomores
A strong group of sophomores looks like it will have an impact in the Patriot League through the 2012 season. Five of the top eight and nine of the top 17 scorers in the League are sophomores. Navy's Jordan Sugars (15.7) ranks third in the League in scoring, with Colgate's Yaw Gyawu (14.7), Holy Cross' R.J. Evans (14.2), Lafayette's Jim Mower (13.4) and Army's Julian Simmons (13.2) occupying spots five through eight. American's Stephen Lumpkins leads the Patriot League with 8.6 rebounds and is second with 1.9 blocked shots per game, while Sugars is second with 8.4 rebounds per contest. Sophomores hold five of the top seven spots in three-point field goals per game, and four of seven in three-point field goal percentage.

Patriot League on CBS College Sports
The Patriot League home for men's basketball coverage moves to the CBS College Sports Network in 2010, with 12 men's games on the slate including a pair from the Patriot League Tournament. The schedule featues regular-season games on Thursday night and Sunday afternoon, as well as the final Saturday of the regular-season. On the final two weekends (Feb. 21 and 27) a "Flex Game" schedule is in place where the televised contest will not be announced until a later date. One Patriot League quarterfinal game will be shown on March 3 at 7 p.m., while a semifinal contest will be televised on March 7 at 8 p.m. CBS College Sports Network is available through cable operators as well as on DIRECTV Channel 613 and Dish Network Channel 152. The Patriot League Championship remains on ESPN2 and will be played on March 12 at 4:45 p.m.

Plenty Of Coverage on League Website, Social Media outlets
The Patriot League is expanding its men's basketball coverage on the League website and through social media. The composite schedule includes all live stat, audio and video links for games throughout the season, and a recap with links to school box scores and recaps has been provided after each night of games. Tthe Patriot League has accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and a blog on the League website to provide more information. All three accounts are accessible through the multimedia link at the right-hand sidebar on the front page of www.patriotleague.org.

Team Notebooks

American The Eagles split a pair of games last week, falling at Florida, 76-60, on Monday before winning at Brown, 76-68, on Saturday...American is at 3-11 overall with just one non-League game remaining at Columbia on Monday...Nick Hendra had a pair of outstanding efforts in the contests...He posted a double-double with 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against the Gators, and totaled a career-high 18 points in the win over Brown...Vlad Moldoveanu added 15 points and Stephen Lumpkins tallied a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds against the Bears...The Eagles held the lead for most of the contest, with Brown cutting it to three on four different occasions late in the game...Lumpkins hit a layup for a 70-65 lead with 1:02 left, and Brown would come no closer as the Eagles closed the contest on an 8-3 run...The Eagles are halfway through their six-game road trip with a 1-2 record...After facing Columbia, the trip continues in League play at Lehigh on Saturday and Bucknell on Jan. 13.

Army The Black Knights were dealt a pair of losses on the road last week, falling at SMU, 71-63, on Wednesday and at Portland, 67-57, on Saturday...Army saw its four-game win streak come to an end in dropping to 9-4 on the season...It has lost consecutive games for the first time this year...The script was similar in both contests, as Army fell behind early and a late comeback attempt was not enough...The Black Knights cut a 16-point deficit to five at SMU, but could not get any closer...Army used a 10-0 run at Portland to cut its deficit to four points with 4:18 left, but was outscored 9-3 the rest of the way in the 10-point loss...Army plays its last non-League game at home against Brown on Wednesday...Christl Arena has been a friendly place for the Black Knights, who are 6-0 on their home court this year and have a seven-game home winning streak overall...The Black Knights go on the road for the first two League games, at Colgate Saturday and Holy Cross on Jan. 13.

Bucknell The Bison played their first three home games in nearly a month last week, going 1-2 with an overtime win over Marist on Wednesday and losses to Loyola (Md.) on Monday and Richmond on Saturday...Bucknell is at 5-10 for the season, with just one non-League game left at Dartmouth on Monday...The 55-47 loss against Loyola (Md.) on Monday was Bucknell's sixth in a row, but they ended the skid in dramatic fashion with a 70-67 win against Marist on Wednesday...Bryan Cohen put the Bison up with 22 seconds left in regulation, but Marist came back to send the game to overtime 11 seconds later...The final minute of overtime was frantic, with Mike Muscala hitting a three-pointer to tie the score, followed by Marist going up by two with a basket with 30 seconds left...Ten seconds later, Cohen hit the eventual game-winning three-pointer and put Bucknell up, 68-67...Cohen came up with a strong defensive play and rebound on the next possession, and iced the win at the foul line with one second left...The Bison trailed a very good Richmond team by three points with just over a minute to play, but the Spiders closed the game on an 8-2 run for the 59-50 final...After concluding the non-League schedule, Bucknell opens League action at home against Navy on Saturday and American on Jan. 13.

Colgate The Raiders played one of their best offensive games under Head Coach Emmett Davis in beating Longwood, 95-80, at home on Saturday..Colgate improved to 2-10 after previously losing at New Hampshire, 63-55, on Wednesday...Kyle Roemer scored a career-high 38 points while shooting 14-of-21 from the field in the game...Ben Jonson chipped in with a career-high 23 points, while Yaw Gyawu scored 18 as the trio combined for 79 of the team's 95 points...Colgate scored 51 first-half points to lead by eight at the break, and led by as many as 17 in the second half...Colgate produced its best offensive output against a Division I opponent since the Raiders defeated Long Island 99-87 on November 17, 2001...It was just the second time the Raiders scored 95 points in Head Coach Emmett Davis' 12-year tenure...Davis earned his 150th career victory, all coming at Colgate...It was the first of a five-game homestand, which continues against Central Connecticut State on Monday and North Carolina Central on Wednesday, and closes out with Army and Lafayette in the first two League games on Saturday and Jan. 13.

Holy Cross The Crusaders went 1-2 in a busy week, falling to George Washington on Monday and Stony Brook on Thursday before knocking off Central Connecticut State on Saturday...The Crusaders are at 3-11 on the season, snapping a five-game losing streak with the win on Saturday...Holy Cross had strong performances from sophomores Devin Brown and R.J. Evans during the week...Brown had a season-high 20 points in the 70-68 loss to George Washington, and chipped in 19 in the 70-53 win over Central Connecticut State...Evans was in double digits in all three games, with 16 points against both George Washington and Central Connecticut State...He also had 10 rebounds in Saturday's win...Holy Cross took an 11-point halftime lead and was up by double digits for nearly the entire second half in the win over CCSU...Andrew Beinert was also in double figures in all three games, with a team-high 16 points in the 69-60 loss to Stony Brook on Thursday...Andrew Keister had 13 points and 18 rebounds in that game, a career high and the top rebounding effort for a Patriot League player this season...Holy Cross plays its last contest before League action when it visits N.C. State on Wednesday...The Crusaders open League play at Lafayette on Saturday.

Lafayette The Leopards split a pair of games last week, losing a 82-72 heartbreaker in overtime at Delaware on Tuesday and bouncing back with a 77-62 win at home against Penn on Sunday...Lafayette had its three-game win streak snapped at Delaware, but improved to 8-6 on the year with the win over Penn...Jared Mintz scored a career-high 26 points in the loss to the Blue Hens, making 9-of-13 field goals and all eight foul shots...Lafayette held a 59-52 lead with 2:17 left, but Delaware closed with a 9-2 run to force overtime and put together another 10-2 surge in the extra session...Lafayette led by nine points at halftime and as many as 18 in the second half in the win over Penn...Jim Mower scored 21 points, while Ryan Willen, Mintz and Jeff Kari all notched 10 or more...It was the first of a three-game homestand for Lafayette, which faces Columbia on Wednesday and begins League play against Holy Cross on Saturday.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks have won four consecutive games after posting three victories last week to move to 8-6 on the season...Lehigh won at Longwood, 89-78, on Monday, at Delaware State, 73-66, in overtime on Wednesday, and at home against NJIT, 86-79, on Saturday...It was a big week for two seniors and two freshmen on the Lehigh roster...Marquis Hall became Lehigh's all-time assist leader in the win over NJIT, and now stands with 454 in his career...Hall scored a team-high 20 in the win over Delaware State on Wednesday, and matched a career-high with 10 assists against Longwood on Monday...Zahir Carrington notched his 1,000th point in the win over Longwood, and now stands with 1,016 for his career...Freshmen C.J. McCollum and Gabe Knutson also had outstanding weeks...McCollum averaged 18.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in the three games, scoring a team-high 21 in the win over Longwood...Knutson averaged 12.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in the games, with a career-high 23 against NJIT on Saturday...Lehigh's most dramatic win came at Delaware State, as the Mountain Hawks used a 17-4 run to make up a 10-point deficit with just over eight minutes left and force overtime...Lehigh continues a three-game homestand against Yale on Tuesday and American in League play on Saturday.

Navy The Mids earned two quality home victories last week, taking down Coppin State, 78-75, on Wednesday and Elon, 79-73, on Saturday to improve to 6-8 for the season...The Coppin State game was back and forth throughout, with Jordan Sugars hitting the game-winning three with 0.7 seconds left to give the Mids the win...Sugars had a career-high 27 points and seven rebounds in the game...Sugars totaled a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds against Elon...The Mids won the game largely due to a 12-3 run when the game was tied midway through the second half...Reserve Greg Brown scored all of his career-high 11 points in 2:11 to key the run...Chris Harris scored 20 points against Coppin State and a team-high 22 versus Elon, and has scored in double digits in all 14 games this season...Navy is 12-2 in non-League home games in the last two years...The Mids close out their non-League slate at Howard on Monday, then go to Bucknell for a League game on Saturday.