Jan. 25, 2010

Center Valley, Pa. - Seven Patriot League men's basketball teams will enter Wednesday's action within two games of the lead in the League standings, with Lehigh and Lafayette sharing the top mark at 4-1. Lehigh's C.J. McCollum has been instrumental in the Mountain Hawks' success, and on Monday was named the Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week for the third consecutive and fifth overall time. American's Vlad Moldoveanu receives his second Player of the Week award of the year after a pair of 20-point efforts last week.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 1.25.10

Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week (Jan. 18-24)

Vlad Moldoveanu, American Jr., F, 6'9, 215, Bucharest, Romania/St. John's College
Moldoveanu earned his second Patriot League/Anaconda Player of the Week award of the season after putting up 20-point efforts in each of American's contests last week. He totaled 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting in a loss at Army on Wednesday, then contributed an outstanding overall effort in a 71-64 win over Holy Cross on Saturday. Moldoveanu scored 20 points against the Crusaders while also pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out a career-high five assists. He led all scorers in each of the games, and averaged 21.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 3.0 apg while shooting 51.7 percent (15-of-29) from the field. Moldoveanu is averaging a team-high 18.6 points per game in 11 contests after becoming eligible at the conclusion of the fall semester. In Patriot League play, he places fourth with 20.2 points per game and second with 8.6 rebounds per contest.

Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week (Jan. 18-24)

C.J. McCollum, Lehigh Fr., G, 6'3, 165, Canton, Ohio/Glen Oak
McCollum put together two more huge efforts to lead Lehigh to a share of first place in the Patriot League and receive the Patriot League/Anaconda Rookie of the Week award for the third consecutive time and fifth instance this season. He posted 29 points in the Mountain Hawks' 74-60 win over Colgate on Wednesday, his third effort of 29 or more in five games at the time. He became the first Lehigh freshman since 1985 with three games of 25 points or more in a season. McCollum made 9-of-13 shots in the game, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. He also hit 7-of-8 foul shots and pulled down seven rebounds. McCollum had a nearly identical performance on Saturday against Lafayette, as he scored 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting and 4-of-6 from three-point range in Lehigh's 75-57 win. He contributed six rebounds, four assists and two steals in the game. McCollum averaged 26.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the contests, making 64 percent of his shots (18-of-28), 73 percent from three-point range (8-of-11) and 80 percent at the line (8-of-10). McCollum led Lehigh in scoring in both games, and is up to third in the Patriot League with 16.1 points per game for the year. He also places third in Patriot League action with 21.2 points per contest.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week (Jan. 18-24)

Chris Harris, Navy Sr., G, 6'2, 185, Mechanicsville, Va./Fork Union
After struggling in a loss at Holy Cross on Wednesday, Harris erupted for 30 points in just 21 minutes in a 62-56 win over rival Army on Saturday. He was 8-of-10 from the field, made all four three-pointers and hit 10-of-11 foul shots.

Zahir Carrington, Lehigh Sr., F, 6'7, 220, Philadelphia, Pa./Masterman
Carrington averaged 15.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in two Lehigh wins last week, including a 19-point effort as Lehigh tied Lafayette for first place with a 75-57 win on Saturday.

Patriot League Notebook

Lehigh Ties Lafayette for First Place
Lehigh and Lafayette share first place in the Patriot League heading into Wednesday's contests, as each squad has a 4-1 League mark after the Mountain Hawks used a big second half to beat the Leopards, 75-57, on Saturday. Lehigh was down five at halftime and seven early in the second half before closing out the game with a 45-20 advantage. C.J.McCollum scored 23 points in the game as Lehigh held Lafayette to 4-of-27 overall and 1-of-16 three-point shooting in the second half.

Standings Tight After Close Contests
Five of the remaining six Patriot League teams are within two games of the co-leaders after Saturday's contests which saw plenty of drama. Navy trailed Army by 14 early in the second half before putting together a 33-7 stretch to take control and a 62-56 victory at home. Bucknell rallied from 13 down, scoring the final five points of the game to notch a victory at Colgate, 62-61. American broke open a tie game early in the second half and held on to defeat Holy Cross, 71-64, in Washington, D.C. for Head Coach Jeff Jones' 300th career victory. After Lehigh and Lafayette, Navy is at 3-2 and Army, Bucknell, American and Holy Cross are all 2-3, with Colgate at 1-4.

Four for Wednesday
The three teams with winning Patriot League marks face squads behind them in the standings on Wednesday, which could lead to an even tighter crop or separation for the pack heading to the weekend. Lehigh takes its three-game winning streak and share of first place into Bucknell, while Lafayette has its share on the line at home against Army. Holy Cross visits Colgate to complete the trio of games starting at 7 p.m., while Navy heads to American at 7:30 p.m.

Victories in the Valley
Lehigh became the Patriot League's hottest team by taking down the previous hot squad on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks have now won three in a row and nine of 10 games after beating the Leopards. Though they lost to Lehigh to snap a six-game winning streak, Lafayette is not far behind with nine wins in its last 11 games.

Home-court Advantage
Home squads won three of four games on Saturday, and the host has now claimed seven of the last eight League contests for a 14-6 record in League play. Lehigh is up to 9-1 at home, while Army and Lafayette are 8-1 and Navy improved to 7-3. Patriot League teams are 45-26 at home this season and 24-64 at road or neutral sites.

Double-Digit Differences
Three of Saturday's four games were decided by single digits to defy an early trend of double-digit contests. Still, 13 of 20 Patriot League games have finished with a difference of 10 points or more this season. All of Lehigh's games have produced double-digit finishes, although the Mountain Hawks' Wednesday opponent, Bucknell, has had four of its first five League games decided by four points or less.

Another Big Scoring Effort
Navy's Chris Harris scored 30 points in Saturday's win over Army, which marked the sixth time this season that a Patriot League player has scored 29 points or more in League action. That's a significant number because nobody hit that mark in a League game last year. Harris and Lehigh's C.J. McCollum have each scored 29 or more twice in League play, while Colgate's Kyle Roemer and Holy Cross' Devin Brown have done it once. Harris has three of the eight 30-point performances for Patriot Leaguers for the entire year after just six were recorded last season. Scoring has slowed down in recent League games, but there have already been seven 80+ point outings in League play after four were recorded in the entire 2009 season, and three 90-point efforts after just one instance of exactly 90 in a game last year.

Coaching Milestones
American's Jeff Jones earned his 300th career win on Saturday against Holy Cross, after earlier recording his 150th win at the school. He's certainly not the only Patriot League coach with a milestone number this year. Lafayette Head Coach Fran O'Hanlon surpassed the 200-victory plateau and also became the Patriot League all-time leader in games coached. Emmett Davis won his 150th career game, all at Colgate, and Navy' Billy Lange won his 75th in Annapolis. Bucknell's Dave Paulsen recorded his 275th career win on Jan. 13.

Lehigh's Hall About to Start a New Club
Lehigh senior guard Marquis Hall is in the Patriot League record book in three different categories. He's 32nd with 1,356 points, fourth with 497 assists and 19th with 159 steals in his career. Now, Hall is three assists away from a new stratosphere for a Patriot Leaguer. When he hits 500 assists, Hall will become the first player in League annals with more than 1,300 points and 500 assists. Last year, American's Derrick Mercer, the Patriot League Player of the Year, became the first with 1,200 points and 500 assists.

Navy's Harris Enters Another Chart
Navy's Chris Harris had another outstanding effort at the foul line on Saturday, going 10-of-11 in the win over Army. Harris is 124-139 (89.2 percent) at the charity stripe this season, which has given him enough made free throws to enter the Patriot League's career leaderboard in third place at 85.1 percent (309-363). Harris is also up to 28th in League history with 1,413 points, and eighth with 256 three-pointers. He is two steals away from a fourth category, the 150-steal club, and needs just seven assists and two steals to become the second Navy player with 1,400 points, 250 assists and 150 steals.

More for the Record Books
In addition to Hall and Harris, four other players have a spot somewhere in the League record books. Colgate's Kyle Roemer is the active career scoring leader with 1,456 points, good for 24th place. He is also six treys away from the top ten in League annals. Lehigh's Zahir Carrington is in the 1,000-point (1,109) and 500-rebound (583) clubs. Army's Josh Miller is 20th all-time with 311 assists, while Holy Cross' Andrew Beinert has qualifed for the three-point percentage list in seventh place at 40.4.

Super Sophomores
Six of the top 10 and nine of the top 15 scorers in the League are sophomores. Colgate's Yaw Gyawu, Navy's Jordan Sugars, Holy Cross' R.J. Evans, Lafayette's Jim Mower, Holy Cross' Devin Brown and Army's Julian Simmons are all in the top 10 in scoring on the League leaderboard. Sugars, despite standing just 6-foot-3, is second in the League with 8.3 rebounds per game, with American's Stephen Lumpkins third in rebounds (8.0) and second in blocked shots (1.8) per contest. Sophomores hold four of the top seven spots in three-point field goals per game, and five of nine 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 (20.5) first, Colgate's Kyle Roemer (18.9 ppg) second, Colgate's Yaw Gyawu (15.4) fourth and Navy's Jordan Sugars (14.7) sixth. Harris and Roemer are also among the top scorers in the country, with each ranking in the top 50 of the most recent NCAA statistics.

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.

Patriot League on CBS College Sports Network
The Patriot League schedule on CBS College Sports Network continues on Sunday when Lehigh visits Holy Cross in a Noon tip-off. There are nine more games left on the slate, with one Patriot League quarterfinal and semifinal contest being 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 scheduled for television coverage this season.

Social Media Coverage and More Added to League Website
The Patriot League has expanded 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. 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

Lehigh (13-7, 4-1) at Bucknell (7-14, 2-3)
Sojka Pavilion; Lewisburg, Pa. - Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Series Bucknell, 91-59
Streak Bucknell, One Win Last Meeting Bucknell, 72-51 (2.25.2009)
Last Lehigh Win 61-59 (1.28.2009) Last Five Games Lehigh, 3-2

Lehigh puts its share of first place in the Patriot League and three-game winning streak on the line at Bucknell on Wednesday...The Bison are trying to win back-to-back games for the first time since claiming three straight in mid-November...The teams split last year's matchups with home victories, as the Mountain Hawks won, 61-59, in Bethlehem on Jan. 28 and the Bison responded with a 72-51 triumph at home on Feb. 25...Lehigh swept the 2008 series, but Bucknell had won all of the meetings in 2006 and 2007...The Bison hold a 28-10 lead in regular-season Patriot League matchups, and 32-12 all-time as League members...Lehigh last started 5-1 in the Patriot League in 2006, while Bucknell has only been below. 500 through six games once in the past eight seasons.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks continued their best start in League play since 2007 and moved into a tie for first place by outscoring Lafayette, 45-22, in the second half of a 75-57 home victory on Saturday...It was Lehigh's third straight win and ninth in the last 10 contests as the Mountain Hawks improved to 13-7 overall and 4-1 in the Patriot League...Lehigh improved to 9-1 at home for the first time since the 2003-04 season...Lehigh denied Lafayette a 5-0 League record for the second time in the past three years...The Mountain Hawks also won the first game against the Leopards for the fifth straight season, and evened the series at 21-21 as Patriot League members...Lehigh held Lafayette to 4-of-27 overall and 1-of-16 three-point shooting after the break to take control...Lafayette was up seven after scoring the first basket of the second half, but Lehigh countered with an 11-0 run to take the lead for good at 41-37 with 16:18 to play...Lehigh later scored seven straight points for a 51-43 lead, and extended it even more with an 11-2 spurt for a 65-49 advantage with 7:39 left...Lehigh led by at least 13 points the rest of the way...C.J. McCollum made 9-of-15 shots and 4-of-6 three-pointers for a team-high 23 points...Zahir Carrington scored 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Marquis Hall dished out 10 assists...It was Hall's sixth double-figure assist game of the year, and Lehigh had 18 assists with only 12 turnovers...Carrington made 11-of-15 shots in Lehigh's two wins last week, and had 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the second half against the Leopards...Lehigh also had a 46-32 rebounding advantage...The Mountain Hawks are on a three-game road trip, next going to Holy Cross on Sunday at Noon.

Bucknell The Bison earned their first road win since November by coming back from a 13-point deficit and scoring the last five points of the game for a 62-61 victory at Colgate on Saturday...They had last won on the road on Nov. 28 at Wagner, which was also Bucknell's last regulation win before Saturday...Bucknell snapped a seven-game road losing streak...Mike Muscala scored the final two baskets of the game, including the eventual game-winning shot with 2:09 remaining...Bucknell's defense made the bucket stand up by forcing Colgate's Ben Jonson into a miss on the final possession...The Bison held Colgate scoreless for more than four minutes to close the game...The final score was Bucknell's only lead of the contest...Bucknell's previous two wins over Colgate came in overtime contests... G.W. Boon had a career-high 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while Muscala notched 16 points on 8-of-12 from the floor...They led the Bison bench to a 37-10 advantage over Colgate...Bryan Cohen totaled 12 points and a team-high four assists...Bucknell committed only seven turnovers in the game and put an end to a two-game losing skid...The Bison complete a brief two-game homestand against Army on Saturday.

Navy (9-11, 3-2) at American (5-15, 2-3)
Bender Arena; Washington, D.C. - Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.

Series Navy, 36-33
Streak American, Two Wins Last Meeting American, 64-59 (2.25.2009)
Last Navy Win 83-68 (2.27.2008) Last Five Games American, 3-2

The Patriot League's southern-most schools meet on Wednesday night in Washington, with both Navy and American setting their sights on the top half of the League standings...American puts its 19-game home winning streak against Patriot League teams on the line against the last team to win at Bender Arena...Navy recorded a 77-66 win at American on Jan. 30, 2008 for the last triumph by a Patriot League visitor...The Mids went on to sweep the season series that season, but American answered with a season sweep of the Mids in close contests last season...The Eagles won at Navy, 68-67, on Jan. 28, and at home, 64-59, on Feb. 25...Navy holds a 36-33 lead in the all-time series, but American has dominated in Patriot League play by winning 15 of 18 meetings as League members, including a 13-3 mark in the regular season...Navy's 2008 victory at American is the only one for the Mids in eight trips in Patriot League play...Navy shoots for its first 4-2 or better Patriot League start since hitting that mark in 2002, while American has not had a losing record through six League games since 2007.

Navy The Mids took over the second half for a come-from-behind win over rival Army on Saturday, outscoring the Black Knights 33-7 over a 14-minute span to rally from a 14-point deficit for a 62-56 win at home...The win was Navy's second consecutive over Army, and snapped a six-year trend of alternating wins and losses between the schools...Navy won the first matchup of the season for the first time since 2003...The Mids also ended a two-game losing skid overall...It was the ninth straight time the contest was decided by single digits...Navy is at 3-2 in the League for the second straight season, and 9-11 overall...Navy was down 39-25 with 16:11 to play before starting the big surge...They put together a 14-3 run to climb back within three with 11:24 left, then scored 10 straight points for a 51-44 lead with 3:25 to go...After an Army basket, Navy notched seven straight points to go up, 58-46, with only 2:04 left to go on to the victory...The Mids won for the first time when trailing at halftime, and improved to 7-0 in games decided by six points or less...Chris Harris had 30 points in just 21 minutes of action due to foul trouble...He made 8-of-10 shots, all four three-pointers and 10-of-11 free throws in the game...Harris became the seventh player in Navy history with three 30-point games in a season, and four in a career...Jordan Sugars had 15 points and O.J. Avworo totaled 10, with the trio accounting for 40 of Navy's 43 points after intermission...The Mids made 10-of-19 second-half shots after hitting just 6-of-20 before the break...The Mids start a two-game home stretch on Saturday when Colgate comes to Annapolis.

American The Eagles put up another impressive performance in a Patriot League home game, pulling away from Holy Cross in the second half for a 71-64 victory on Saturday...It was American's 19th straight home victory against a Patriot League foe, a stretch that started midway through the 2008 League schedule...The victory also gave American Head Coach Jeff Jones his 300th win, 154 of which have come in 10 seasons at American...American improved to 5-15 overall and 2-3 in League action with its second win in the past three contests...The Eagles have won five of the past six meetings with the Crusaders, and four in a row at home that have all come during their 19-game streak...The score was tied at halftime, but the Eagles went ahead for good early in the second half and notched nine consecutive points to get some distance with a 48-38 advantage with 9:52 to play...Holy Cross got back within three with 59 seconds left, but American hit 4-of-6 free throws and kept the Crusaders off the board to seal the win...Vlad Moldoveanu had 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Stephen Lumpkins posted 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds...The Eagles recorded 21 assists and only 13 turnovers in the game...It was the first time since Feb. 23, 2007 that the Eagles topped 20 assists in a game...American shot 46.9 percent (23-of-49) for the game and held a 39-29 advantage on the boards...American is in the midst of playing four of five games at home, but does go to Lafayette on Saturday for the lone road contest in that stretch.

Army (12-7, 2-3) at Lafayette (13-7, 4-1)
Kirby Sports Center; Easton, Pa. - Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Series Lafayette, 34-22 TV RCN-4, WBPH-60
Streak Army, Three Wins Last Meeting Army, 79-55 (2.25.2009)
Last Lafayette Win 83-58 (1.30.2008) Last Five Games Army, 4-1

Two of the Patriot League's top teams throughout the course of the season will try to rebound from a loss to a rival as Army visits Lafayette on Wednesday night...The Black Knights fell to 2-3 in the League with a loss at Navy, while Lafayette suffered its first League loss and had its six-game winning streak snapped with a defeat at Lehigh...Army has won the last three meetings, including a sweep of last year's series by scores of 57-56 at home on Jan. 28 and 79-55 at Lafayette on Feb. 25...Lafayette's last win was a 83-58 home victory on Jan. 30, 2008, which made the Leopards 5-1 in the Patriot League...Lafayette had won six straight matchups in Easton before last year's contest...Lafayette has a 34-22 series edge that includes a 24-14 advantage in regular-season League games.

Army The Black Knights let a double-digit second-half lead get away and fell at Navy, 62-56, on Saturday afternoon...Army fell to 12-7 overall and 2-3 in the League, and has alternated wins and losses for its first five League games, and last seven games overall... Army had won the first meeting between the schools in the previous six seasons, but has now lost two straight to its rival for the first time since 2003...It was the ninth straight time the contest was decided by single digits...Army was up 24-19 at halftime and 39-25 less than four minutes into the second half before Navy took control with a 33-7 run over 14 minutes...Julian Simmons was the only Army player to score in double figures, finishing with 16 points...Cleveland Richard had eight points and a team-high five assists...The Black Knights forced 18 Navy turnovers, but committed 17 of their own...Army made just 5-of-18 three-pointers in the contest...Army concludes its three-game road trip at Bucknell on Saturday, finishing a stretch of five of the first seven League games away from West Point.

Lafayette The Leopards had a lead to start the second half at Lehigh, but went cold after the break and suffered their first Patriot League loss, 75-57, at the hands of the Mountain Hawks...Lafayette falls into a first-place tie with Lehigh at 4-1 in the Patriot League, and had its six-game win streak come to an end...The Leopards have still won nine of the past 11 games and are 13-7 for the season...Lafayette had a chance to go 5-0 in the League and win seven straight games overall for the first time since 2004...Lafayette has dropped the first meeting with Lehigh in each of the past five seasons...Lafayette was up 35-30 at halftime and scored the first basket of the second half before Lehigh held a 45-20 advantage for the rest of the game...Ryan Willen scored 12 points to lead Lafayette...The Leopards had made 52 percent of their first-half shots before hitting just 4-of-27 after the break, and only 1-of-16 three-pointers...For the game they shot 17-of-52 and 6-for-30 from three-point range...Lafayette concludes the first half of the League schedule by hosting American on Saturday afternoon.

Holy Cross (5-15, 2-3) at Colgate (5-14, 1-4)
Cotterell Court; Hamilton, N.Y. - Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Series Holy Cross, 50-16
Streak Holy Cross, Three Wins Last Meeting Holy Cross, 61-44 (3.8.2009)
Last Colgate Win 63-55 (2.27.2008) Last Five Games Holy Cross, 4-1

Holy Cross and Colgate are both trying to work their way up the League standings when they meet in Hamilton on Wednesday night...The Crusaders have dominated the series with 10 wins in the past 12 meetings...Holy Cross won all three contests last year, with regular-season wins of 68-44 at home on Jan. 28 and 60-58 at Colgate on Feb. 25, followed by a 61-44 win at home in the League Tournament semifinals...Colgate did sweep the 2008 season series, with a 58-46 win in Hamilton...Holy Cross has a 28-14 edge as Patriot League members, and 26-12 in regular-season League contests...Colgate is trying to avoid a 1-5 League record for the first time since 2007, while Holy Cross has been 3-3 or better through six games for four of the past five seasons.

Holy Cross The Crusaders saw their two-game win streak come to an end with a 71-64 loss at American on Saturday afternoon...Holy Cross has dropped five of the last six meetings with the Eagles, including the past four in Washington, D.C...The Crusaders fell behind by double digits midway through the second half, but did fight back to cut the gap to 67-64 with 59 seconds to play...Holy Cross would not score another point in the final minute...Holy Cross made only 11-of-31 shots and 1-of-6 three-pointers after halftime...Three Crusaders scored in double digits, with Devin Brown leading the way with 19 points, Andrew Beinert scoring 15 and R.J. Evans totaling 14...Holy Cross heads home for its next two games, with Lehigh on Sunday on CBS College Sports Network and Lafayette the following Saturday.

Colgate The Raiders dropped their fourth straight game, this time in heartbreaking fashion in a 62-61 defeat at home against Bucknell...Colgate held a 13-point lead in the first half, was up 11 at halftime and 61-57 with just over four minutes to play...The Raiders had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Ben Jonson's shot fell short...Colgate fell to 1-4 in the Patriot League for the fourth time in the past five seasons...Kyle Roemer led Colgate with 19 points, while Yaw Gyawu scored 14...The Raiders held a 39-32 rebounding advantage, but committed six more turnovers than Bucknell (13-7)...Colgate has dropped four consecutive games after winning four in a row...The Raiders start a three-game road trip at Navy on Saturday.