Jan. 17, 2012
Army vs. Colgate Game Notes 
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army men's basketball team returns home to host Colgate on Wednesday, Jan. 18. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. The two teams split the season series a year ago with each team winning on its opponent's home floor.
ARMY ON THE AIR
Radio: The Army Sports Network will broadcast the Colgate game. The game will be heard in the Hudson Valley on WALL (1340-AM, Middletown) and WEOK (1390-AM, Poughkeepsie). Rich DeMarco will handle the play-by-play.
Web: ITT Knight Vision will carry a video stream of the game. Patriot League All-Access will also have a video stream of Saturday’s game. Subscription fees apply.
ABOUT ARMY
Army will attempt to avoid a “Navy hangover” on Wednesday night against Colgate. The Black Knights scored their first Patriot League win of the season on Saturday, a 75-62 win on the Mids’ home floor. The win snapped the Black Knights’ 10-game losing streak against conference competition. Army is just 1-7 in the games following their last eight wins over Navy.
Not only did the win in Annapolis stop the Black Knights’ overall skid against league competition, but also ended a seven-game road losing streak in conference and and four-game overall losing streak on the road. Army plays six of its last 11 games at Christl Arena where it has posted a 6-3 mark this season. The Black Knights have won four of their last five home games.
A win against the Raiders would give Army consecutive Patriot League regular-season wins for the first time since ending the 2008-09 season with victories at Lafayette and at Bucknell. The Black Knights have won back-to-back games twice this season, both during non-league play.
While the offense shot better than 50.0 percent and posted 75 points in the win over Navy, the Black Knights’ defense was a key to the victory. Army held the Mids without a field goal for more than five minutes on two occasions last Saturday. The first was part of a 19-3 first-half run that put Army firmly in control. The second was part of a 16-4 second-half run that propelled the Black Knights to a 20-point lead.
The Black Knights broke out of the offensive funk that plagued them during the first two Patriot League games. In the win at Navy, Army shot 51.2 percent for the game, including knocking down 56.5 percent of its three-point tries (13-23). In the first two conference games, Army averaged 61.0 points, shooting just 34.9 percent overall and 32.1 percent from deep (9-28). Army is 5-0 this season when shooting at least 50 percent and 7-2 when making at least 40.0 percent of its three-pointers.
Junior F Ella Ellis continued to cement his reputation as one of the top players in the Patriot League with 19 points in the win at Navy. It was his career-best 20th straight game in double figures. Ellis is the team’s scoring leader at 17.8 points per game, the third best average in the Patriot League. Ellis, Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum and Navy’s J.J. Avila are the only three players in the Patriot League averaging at least 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
A WIN OVER COLGATE WOULD …
• Even Army’s Patriot League record at 2-2.
• Mark the first time Army won back-to-back Patriot League games since the final two regular-season outings of the 2008-09 season.
• Improve Army’s home record to 7-3.
• Be Army’s third win over Colgate in the last four games.
• Be the Black Knights’ sixth win in nine games.
• End Army’s four-game home losing streak in Patriot League games.
THE ARMY-COLGATE SERIES
The Army-Colgate rivalry dates back to the 1904-05 season. Colgate leads the series, 55-53 after last season’s series split. The Raiders are the Black Knights’ second-most common opponent behind Navy (115 games).
The Raiders have won 11 of the last 14 games against Army, but the Black Knights have won two of the last three. Six of the last 10 games have been decided by four points or less and/or in overtime.
INSIDE THE SERIES
First Meeting: 1904-05 (Army, 10-8)
All-Time Record: Colgate leads, 55-53
At West Point: Army leads, 26-22 (since 1950)
At Colgate: Colgate leads, 24-7 (since 1950)
At Neutral Site: Tied, 1-1
Last Army Win: Jan. 8, 2011 (73-66 at Colgate)
Last Colgate Win: Feb. 5, 2011 (77-71 at Colgate)
Series Streak: Colgate W1
Largest Army Margin: +38 (89-51, 1964-65)
Largest Colgate Margin: +30 (45-15, 1916-17)
ARMY STAT LEADERS
Scoring Average: Ella Ellis (17.8)
FG Pct. (min. 10 att.): Andrew Stire (.688)
3-PT FG Made: Josh Herbeck (44)
3-PT FG Pct. (min. 10 att.): Josh Herbeck (.415)
Free Throws Made: Ella Ellis (83)
Free Throw Attempts: Ella Ellis (103)
Free Throw Pct. (min. 10 att.): Ella Ellis (.806)
Rebounding Average: Ella Ellis (4.8)
Assists: Maxwell Lenox (54)
Steals: Julian Simmons/Maxwell Lenox (17)
Blocked Shots: Three Players with (6)
Minutes/Game: Ella Ellis (29.2)
ABOUT COLGATE
Former Temple and Penn assistant coach Matt Lengel is in his first season as the head coach at Colgate. Lengel spent the last five years on the Owls’ sideleine.
Colgate enters Wednesday’s game with a 5-12 overall mark and an 0-3 slate in Patriot League play. The Raiders have lost their last seven games. Colgate’s conference losses have come against three of the four teams that are 2-1 or better in conference action so far.
Army and Colgate played four common non-conference opponents with similar results. Both teams scored road wins at Binghamton, both teams lost at Marist and both teams earned home wins over St. Francis (N.Y.) and Dartmouth.
Pat Moore leads a balanced Colgate offense that is averaging 62.6 points per game. Moore is the only Raider in double figures at 10.1 points per contest. Colgate has six players scoring at least 6.0 points per contest. Nick Pascale is the team’s top rebounder at 5.6 boards per game.
Moore (28), Mike Venezia (30) and Mitch Rolls (29) have accounted for 77 percent of the Raiders’ three-pointers this season (113). All three are shooting at least 37 percent from deep, led by Rolls’ 47.5 percent accuracy mark.
Colgate has been without the services of senior Yaw Gyawu for the majority of the season. Gyawu was the team’s leading scorer last season at 12.6 points per game, but an ankle injury has limited him to only eight games this season. His last action came on Jan. 7 at American where he scored six points off the bench in 15 minutes of work.
UP NEXT ...
Army plays its third road league game of the seaosn when it travels to American on Saturday, Jan. 21. Tip-off at Bender Arena is set for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast in the Washington, D.C. area on Comcast SportsNet.
