Jan. 15, 2010

Center Valley, Pa. - One team will hold sole possession of first place in Patriot League men's basketball after Saturday's action, and it's not going to be the squad that head coaches and sports information directors expected in the preseason. Lafayette, picked to finish eighth in the preseason voting, heads south to take on Navy, selected seventh, on Saturday at 7 p.m. from Annapolis.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 1.15.10

The squads are the last two remaining undefeated teams in the Patriot League, as each won by double digits earlier in the week. Lafayette will try to move to 3-0 for the second time in the past three years, as the Leopards hit the mark in 2008 when they beat Navy, 103-99, in overtime in Annapolis. Navy tries to get to 3-0 for the first time since 1998, its last Patriot League Championship season. The Mids also started 2-0 last year only to have the Leopards deny their chance at a 3-0 start.

The weekend schedule features a pair of games on both Saturday and Sunday. The other Saturday contest pits Bucknell at Holy Cross, with the Crusaders trying for their first League win. Another squad will go for its first League victory on national television, as American hosts Colgate on Sunday at 2 p.m. on CBS College Sports Network. Lehigh and Army will also play at West Point on Sunday at 2 p.m., with each squad trying to move over .500 in League action.

Patriot League Notebook

Lafayette, Navy, Army, Bucknell Win Weekday Games

Two matchups pitting teams that won their League opener and a pair featuring squads that dropped their first Patriot League game were contested this week, with Lafayette, Navy, Army and Bucknell coming away with the victories.

In the matchups of teams with 1-0 Patriot League records, the offense took over as Lafayette posted a 95-82 win at Colgate on Wednesday and Navy followed it up with a 94-83 triumph over Lehigh on Thursday in the first CBS College Sports Network telecast of the season.

The teams that dropped their openers fought down to the wire for their first League triumph, with Army emerging with a 67-64 win at Holy Cross and Bucknell taking down American, 72-68, in overtime. The Black Knights closed with an 8-2 run in the win over the Crusaders, while the Bison committed a school-record one turnover to go on to the victory over the Eagles. Holy Cross last started 0-2 in 2008, while American had not dropped its first two League games since 2007.

Getting Hot at the Right Time
Lafayette and Navy are off to the fastest starts in Patriot League play, and they are part of a group of teams that are playing their best basketball with the League season in full swing. The Leopards have won four straight and seven of their last eight games after winning at Colgate on Wednesday, while the Mids have claimed four of their last five following Thursday's win over Lehigh. Despite the losses, the Mountain Hawks and Raiders still have to feel good about their play of late. Lehigh had won six straight before the loss at Navy, while Colgate had claimed four in a row. Army snapped a stretch of three losses in four games on Wednesday, but before that the Black Knights had won nine of 10 contests.

Patriot League on CBS College Sports Network
The Patriot League home for men's basketball coverage moves to the CBS College Sports Network in 2010, and the television slate opened up this week with Navy's win over Lehigh on Thursday. Colgate and American play the next CBS College Sports Network telecast on Sunday at 2 p.m. There are 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. One Patriot League quarterfinal and semifinal contest will also be shown. 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. With regional packages for Lafayette and Lehigh, 28 Patriot League men's basketball games are already scheduled for television coverage this season.

Catch the Action on All-Access
For the fourth straight season,the Patriot League and CBS Interactive are going to offer the majority of men's and women's basketball games as part of the Patriot League All-Access package, beginning with the start of League play this weekend. Almost every regular-season and Patriot League Tournament game will be shown on high-speed broadband through the video streaming package.

The All-Access package is available for a price of $7.95 per month, which allows subscribers to see the live action of all available Patriot League basketball games as well as the archived content for past games. The cutting-edge technology takes viewers up close with multi-camera coverage. To purchase the All-Access package, go to the multimedia link at the right-hand sidbear of the front page at www.patriotleague.org.

Home-Court Advantage
Home teams have a 5-3 record in League action, and four of the Patriot League's most successful teams are excelling on their home court. Army, which opens its Patriot League home schedule on Sunday, has a perfect 7-0 mark at Christl Arena. Lafayette and Lehigh are each 7-1 at home, while Navy is 6-2 at Alumni Hall. All three teams won their only League home game thus far. Patriot League teams are 36-23 at home this season and just 21-55 at road or neutral sites, with no team holding a winning mark away from home.

Four for the Record Books
Four Patriot League seniors hold a spot in the League's record book, with three of them in multiple categories. With 31 points on Wednesday, Colgate's Kyle Roemer moved up to 28th in Patriot League history with 1,402 career points. Navy's Chris Harris and Lehigh's Marquis Hall are close behind with 1,346 and 1,329 points, respectively. Lehigh's Zahir Carrington has 1,059 points to stand 61st. Hall and Harris are each in the top ten in another category, with Hall sixth in League annals with 473 assists and Harris 10th with 247 three-pointers. Carrington is part of the 500-rebound club as well, while Hall is one of 21 Patriot Leaguers with more than 150 steals and Army's Josh Miller entered the 300-assist group on Wednesday.

High Scorers
No player scored 30 points in a Patriot League regular-season game last season, with the only 30-point effort in a League matchup coming from Holy Cross' R.J. Evans in the quarterfinals against Bucknell. It looks like a group of top scorers are ready to change that trend in the 2010 Patriot League campaign. Colgate's Kyle Roemer and Lehigh's C.J. McCollum each scored 31 points in their losses this week, and the track record of high-scoring efforts is already at a high pace this season. Roemer has topped 30 points on two occasions, with a 38-point outburst against Longwood on Jan. 2 that was the most for a Patriot League player since 2005. McCollum has already scored 31 twice, while Navy's Chris Harris has also done it twice with a high of 37. Army's Julian Simmons has a 30-point game, too, as Patriot League players have seven 30-point efforts after totaling only six all of last year.

High Scorers, Part II
Lafayette and Navy displayed their explosive offenses this week, with the 95 points for the Leopards and the 94 for the Mids ending up as the highest point totals in a Patriot League game since Lafayette won at Navy, 103-99, in overtime on Jan. 19, 2008. Last year's highest-scoring output for a Patriot League team also came when the squads matched up in Annapolis, a 90-67 victory for the Mids on Feb. 14. The teams play again on Saturday in Annapolis with first place in the Patriot League on the line, so look for another offenisve barrage.

Coaching Milestones
Four different Patriot League coaches have hit at least one milestone number this year, with more still to come. Lafayette Head Coach Fran O'Hanlon surpassed the 200-victory plateau and also became the Patriot League all-time leader in games coached. Colgate's Emmett Davis won his 150th career game, all at Colgate, and American's Jeff Jones (150) and Navy's Billy Lange (75) each hit significant numbers at their schools. Bucknell's Dave Paulsen recorded his 275th career win on Wednesday, while Jones is within two wins of 300 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 nine and nine of the top 14 scorers in the League are sophomores. Colgate's Yaw Gyawu, Navy's Jordan Sugars, Holy Cross' R.J. Evans, Lafayette's Jim Mower and Army's Julian Simmons occupy the fifth through ninth positions on the League's scoring leaderboard. Sugars, despite standing just 6-foot-3, is second in the League with 8.2 rebounds per game, with American's Stephen Lumpkins third in rebounds (7.8) and second in blocked shots (1.7) per contest. Sophomores hold four of the top seven spots in three-point field goals per game, and five of seven in three-point field goal percentage.

Scoring Duos
Navy and Colgate continue to get solid production from their prolific scoring duos. The teams boast four of the top six scorers in the Patriot League, with Navy's Chris Harris (20.2) first, Colgate's Kyle Roemer (19.1 ppg) second, Colgate's Yaw Gyawu (14.9) fifth and Navy's Jordan Sugars (14.5) sixth.

Success Vs. NEC, Ivy League in Non-League Play
The Patriot League finished its non-League schedule with a 49-70 record, with 30 of the wins coming against rivals from the Northeast Conference and Ivy League. The Patriot League finished 17-7 against the NEC, and put up a 13-8 mark against the Ivy League.

All-Access, Social Media Coverage Added to League Website
The Patriot League is expanding its men's basketball coverage on the League website and through social media. Once again, the League will offer the All-Access package, where fans can watch nearly every League contest on high-speed broadband for the price of $7.95 per month. 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. The Patriot League has accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and a blog on the League website to provide more information. The All-Access package and all three social media accounts are accessible through the multimedia link at the right-hand sidebar on the front page of www.patriotleague.org.

Patriot League Games

Bucknell (6-12, 1-1) at Holy Cross (3-14, 0-2)
Hart Center; Worcester, Mass. - Saturday, 3:30 p.m.

Series Bucknell, 27-23
Streak Holy Cross, One Win Last Meeting Holy Cross, 75-56 (3.4.2009)
Last Bucknell Win 72-66 (2.14.2009) Last Five Games Holy Cross, 3-2

Bucknell and Holy Cross square off on Saturday in Worcester, each trying to build momentum for the 2010 League schedule...The Bison got their first win of the League slate on Wednesday, while Holy Cross is at 0-2 for the first time since starting 0-4 in 2008...The teams met three times last year, including twice at the Hart Center...Bucknell notched a 72-66 victory in the regular-season matchup in Worcester on Feb. 14, but Holy Cross came back with a 75-56 win at home in the Patriot League quarterfinals on March 4...The Crusaders also won last year's meeting at Bucknell, and the road team has won all four regular-season matchups for the past two seasons...The teams are very familiar with each other, with Bucknell holding a 27-23 edge in an all-time series that has been played entirely as League members...The Bison are up 21-17 in regular-season meetings, while the teams have split 12 League Tournament games...They have matched up in seven of the last eight League Tournaments, including the title contests from 2005-07.

Bucknell The Bison set a school record with just one turnover in Wednesday's 72-68 home overtime win over American, and used big shots from a pair of freshmen to even their League mark at 1-1...Bucknell also snapped a three-game losing streak and ended a stretch of nine lossses in 10 games to improve to 6-12 for the season...The Bison put an end to a three-game skid against the Eagles as well...Bucknell trailed by a small margin for most of the game, but claimed a lead midway through the second half and the teams went back and forth from there...After American went ahead on a three-pointer with 46 seconds left, Bryson Johnson answered with a three of his own with 29 seconds to play to send the game to overtime tied at 59-59...American led by one point with less than two minutes to play when Mike Muscala scored consecutive baskets to give Bucknell a 67-64 lead with 41 seconds left...American cut it to 68-66 with 15 seconds to go, but Johnson sealed the win with four foul shots down the stretch...The Bison have posted their last two wins in overtime, with their last reguation win coming in November...Bucknell was led by 22 points from Patrick Behan and 16 from Johnson...The Bison shot under 40 percent and lost the rebounding battle, but made up for it by taking care of the ball at a school-record pace...After playing the first two League games at home, the Bison are starting a three-game road trip on Saturday.

Holy Cross The Crusaders are at 0-2 in the Patriot League for the second time in the past three years after falling at home against Army, 67-64, on Wednesday...Holy Cross has dropped three straight and eight of its last nine overall to fall to 3-14 for the season...The Crusaders had won three straight and 16 of 17 against Army before Wednesday's loss...Holy Cross trailed by single digits for most of the game, but took its first lead of the game at 60-59 with 6:01 to play...The Crusaders pushed the advantage to 62-59 before Army closed with an 8-2 run...Holy Cross had multiple chances to tie the score after Army went up 67-64 with 1:52 left, but could not come up with the game-tying three-pointer...Despite the loss, Andrew Keister had a huge effort for the Crusaders...The junior forward put up 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting and tallied 18 rebounds, tying his own mark for the most by a Patriot League player this season... Devin Brown scored 13 points, while Mike Cavataio had 11 and Andrew Beinert scored 10...The Crusaders held a 37-28 advantage on the glass, but were hurt by 17 turnovers and 5-of-15 three-point shooting...It was the opener of a three-game League homestand, which continues against Bucknell on Saturday and Navy on Wednesday.

Lafayette (11-6, 2-0) at Navy (8-9, 2-0)
Alumni Hall; Annapolis, Md. - Saturday, 7 p.m.

Series Navy, 40-23
Streak Navy, One Win Last Meeting Navy, 90-67 (2.14.2009)
Last Lafayette Win 84-69 (1.17.2009) Last Five Games Navy, 3-2

First place in the Patriot League is on the line when Lafayette visits Navy on Saturday night...Both teams are coming off scoring 90+ points in their last game, and the series has included plenty of high-scoring games in recent years...The winning team has scored at least 82 points every time as the teams have split the season series the past two years...Navy notched a 90-67 win in the last meeting in Annapolis on Feb. 14, while Lafayette had scored an 84-69 win at home on Jan. 17, 2009...The Leopards have won the first meeting between the teams in each of the past two seasons...In 2008, Lafayette notched a 103-99 win at Navy in overtime to move to 3-0 in League play, while last year the Leopards denied the Mids a 3-0 start in the League...Navy has won five of the past seven meetings overall, and four of the last five in Annapolis...Lafayette tries to go to 3-0 in the Patriot League for the second time in the past three seasons, while winning its fifth game in a row and eighth in its last nine...Navy has not opened 3-0 in the Patriot League since 1998, the Mids last League Championship season...Navy goes for its fifth win in the last six games.

Lafayette The Leopards are at 2-0 in League play for the second time in the last three years after winning at Colgate, 95-82, on Wednesday evening...Lafayette defeated the Raiders in the second Patriot League game for both teams for the fifth year in a row...The Leopards won at Colgate for the fourth time in the past five years...The Leopards won their fourth consecutive game overall to improve to 11-6 for the season, and have won seven of their past eight contests...The Leopards trailed just once in the game, at 13-12 just over four minutes into the contest...Lafayette responded with the next seven points and held the advantage the rest of the way...Lafayette took a 10-point lead at the half, then used an 11-2 second-half run to build an 18-point lead with 13:16 to go...The Leopards went up by as many as 23 before Colgate chipped away for the 13-point final margin...Jared Mintz led the way with 22 points, while Ryan Willen scored 19, Jim Mower tallied 14 and Jeff Kari had 11... Lafayette had 19 assists with just 13 turnovers while shooting 56.6 percent (30-of-53) from the field and making 9-of-20 three-point shots...Lafayette also hit on 26-of-36 free throws...Lafayette scored 95 points or more in a regulation game for the first time since Dec. 30, 2003 against Cal-State Northridge...The Leopards have scored 146 points in their last three halves after putting up 51 in the second half against Holy Cross on Saturday...Lafayette will play three of its next four games at home after Saturday's matchup at Navy.

Navy The Mids ran their Patriot League record to 2-0 and won for the fourth time in the past five games to improve to 8-9 overall with a 94-83 victory over Lehigh on Thursday night...The Mids are at 2-0 for the second straight season...Navy earned its fifth win in the last six meetings with Lehigh...The Mids held a small lead throughout most of the game before pulling away late in the contest...Navy held a 57-56 advantage with 10:53 left when it went on a 10-2 run to build a nine-point lead...Lehigh got back as close as four points at 74-70 with 4:14 left, but the Mids responded with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes and held a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the game...Patriot League-leading scorer Chris Harris was at the top of his game, tallying 29 points while making all 14 of his foul shots....Three players joined Harris in double figures, as Jeremy Wilson and Greg Brown each scored 14 points and O.J. Avworo tallied 12...Harris led a very proficient night at the foul line, as Navy shot 27-of-31 from the charity stripe and closed out the win by making 15-of-18 in the final three minutes...Navy also shot 48.2 percent (30-of-62) from the field, with Wilson putting up a 6-for-6 night...The Mids posted their highest scoring output since putting up 102 points in a triple overtime win at William & Mary on Nov. 22, 2008...It was their highest point total in regulation since scoring 106 against Washington (Md.) on Dec. 18, 2005, and top regulation mark against a Division I opponent since putting up 95 points against Mt. St. Mary's on Dec. 30, 2001.

Colgate (5-11, 1-1) at American (3-14, 0-2)
Bender Arena; Washington, D.C. - Sunday, 2 p.m.

Series American, 17-3 TV CBS College Sports Network
Streak American, 10 Wins Last Meeting American, 69-44 (2.14.2009)
Last Colgate Win 67-57 (2.13.2005) Last Five Games American, 5-0

Colgate heads to American for a CBS College Sports Network game on Sunday, with the Raiders trying to snap the Eagles' dominance in the series...American has won the last 10 games in the series, including two strong efforts last year with a 79-49 win at Colgate on Jan. 17 and 69-44 victory at home on Feb. 14...American has a 17-3 edge all-time, and 17-2 as Patriot League members...That includes a 14-2 regular-season mark and 3-0 Tournament record...Colgate's last series win came in 2005, a 67-57 victory at home...The Raiders are trying to start 2-1 in the League for the first time since 2003, while American has never started 0-3 in League play.

Colgate The Raiders fell to 1-1 in the Patriot League and had their four-game winning streak snapped in a 95-82 home loss to Lafayette on Wednesday...It wrapped up a five-game homestand where Colgate posted a 4-1 record...The Raiders lost to Lafayette in the second game of the League schedule for the fifth straight season...They fell to 5-11 overall...Colgate trailed Lafayette throughout, falling behind by as many as 23 points before trimming the final margin to 13...Kyle Roemer had 31 points while hitting 9-of-15 shots and all 11 of his free throws...Roemer is up over 19 points per game for the season, and became the 28th Patriot Leaguer to top 1,400 points for his career...Yaw Gyawu chipped in 22 points, and Colgate held a 37-23 advantage on the boards...The Raiders start the League slate with a 1-1 record for the sixth year in a row, each time losing the second game....Colgate now plays the next two and five of the next seven games on the road.

American The Eagles are at 0-2 in the Patriot League for the first time since 2007 after losing at Bucknell, 72-68, in overtime on Wednesday...American had its three-game win streak against Bucknell come to an end...The Eagles concluded their six-game road trip with a 1-5 record, and fell to 3-14 overall...American has dropped three straight and six of its last seven games...American held a small edge for most of the game, and went up 59-56 on Nick Hendra's three-pointer with 46 seconds to go...Bucknell answered with a three, and the game went to overtime when Vlad Moldoveanu missed at the buzzer...American had a 64-63 lead with less than two minutes left in overtime before Bucknell went on a 9-2 run for the win...Moldoveanu had his second straight double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Eagles...Hendra scored 15 points, while Stephen Lumpkins totaled 10...American is now home for five of its next seven games.

Lehigh (10-7, 1-1) at Army (11-5, 1-1)
Christl Arena; West Point, N.Y. - Sunday, 2 p.m.

Series Lehigh, 58-29
Streak Army, Two Wins Last Meeting Army, 53-50 (3.4.2009)
Last Lehigh Win 77-57 (1.17.2009) Last Five Games Army, 3-2

One of the most competitive Patriot League series in recent seasons has another rendition as Lehigh visits Army on Saturday with each team sitting at 1-1 in the Patriot League...Army has won the last two meetings, each coming at West Point last year...The Black Knights notched a 53-50 win in the Patriot League quarterfinals on March 4, and defeated Lehigh, 82-75, in the first triple overtime contest in Patriot League regular-season play on Feb. 14...Army has nipped the Mountain Hawks by three points or less in the Patriot League quarterfinals in each of the past three seasons...Lehigh has fared well against the Black Knights in regular-season games...The Mountain Hawks notched a 77-57 win at home on Jan. 17 of last year, and the triple-overtime loss snapped a four-game regular-season win streak...Lehigh has a 24-14 edge in regular-season League play, though Army won the three Tournament games.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks saw their six-game game win streak come to an end with a 94-83 loss at Navy on Thursday...Lehigh dropped to 10-7 overall and had its record evened at 1-1 in the Patriot League...The Mountain Hawks trailed by a small margin for most of the game, but Navy posted runs of 10-2 and 9-0 in the final 10 minutes to pull away...It was another outstanding night for freshman C.J. McCollum, who scored a career-high tying 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting...It was the second time in the last three games that he tallied 31 points...Another freshman, Gabe Knutson, scored 16, while Marquis Hall and Michael Ojo each dropped in 10...Lehigh's six-game winning streak had been the longest for a Patriot League team this year.

Army The Black Knights evened their Patriot League record at 1-1 by going on the road and winning at Holy Cross, 67-64, on Wednesday...Army improved to 11-5 overall and ended a stretch of three losses in four games...The Black Knights snapped Holy Cross' three-game series win streak, and won for just the second time in 18 meetings against the Crusaders...However, Army has now won at Holy Cross in two of the past three seasons...The Black Knights held a single-digit lead for most of the game before Holy Cross came back and took a 62-59 edge with 5:40 left...Army closed out the game with an 8-2 run after that point...Two baskets by Josh Miller gave the Black Knights a 63-62 edge with 3:29 left...Holy Cross scored with 2:59 to go to re-take the lead, but Army went up for good on Eric Zastoupil's jump hook with 2:33 to go...Cleveland Richard made it a 67-64 lead with 1:52 to play, and preserved that final score by blocking a three-point attempt in the final seconds...Three Black Knights scored in double figures, led by 22 points from Miller...Julian Simmons scored 17 points, while Richard tallied 14...Army committed just 10 turnovers in the game while forcing 17 Holy Cross miscues...The Black Knights won for the first time this season when allowing an opponent to score over 60 points...Army's 11-5 start is its best since the 1978-79 season.