Feb. 12, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - With victories on Saturday, American and Holy Cross will each clinch home court for the Patriot League men's basketball quarterfinals on March 4. The Eagles have a chance to accomplish that goal on national television when they play Colgate on ESPNU at 1 p.m., while Holy Cross hosts rival Bucknell at 3:30 p.m. Third-place Navy hosts Lafayette and Lehigh goes to Army in key games for position in the standings.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 2.12.09

Patriot League Notebook

League Leaders Try to Clinch Quarterfinal Home Dates

Though they each have five regular-season games left before the Patriot League Tournament begins on March 4, American and Holy Cross can already assure they won't need to pack their bags for the quarterfinal round by winning on Saturday. The Eagles and Crusaders are tied for first place in the Patriot League at 8-1, and will try to lock up home court for the quarterfinals with wins at home on Saturday. American takes on Colgate at 1 p.m. in an ESPNU-televised rematch of last year's League title game, while Holy Cross faces Bucknell at 3:30 p.m. in a rivalry fueled by three consecutive League title matchups from 2005-07.

American and Holy Cross are three games ahead of third-place Navy, which tries to get back on track when it plays host to Lafayette on Saturday evening. Two teams on the cusp of the top half of the standings face off at West Point when Lehigh visits Army.

After the co-leaders at 8-1, Navy is in third place at 5-4, followed closely by Colgate at 5-5 and Lehigh at 4-5. Army holds sixth place with a 3-6 League record, with Lafayette at 2-7 and Bucknell with a 2-8 mark.

Holy Cross, American Win in Final Seconds Wednesday

Holy Cross and American built even more distance from the pack in Patriot League men's basketball on Wednesday night, but it didn't come easy. The Crusaders rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Army, 62-59, at home while American held on for a 52-50 victory at Bucknell.

Each squad improves to 8-1 in League play, three games ahead of third-place Navy after the Mids lost at home against Lehigh, 70-59. Fourth-place Colgate won its third consecutive game and improved to .500 in League play with a 71-54 victory over Lafayette.

Patriot League Back On ESPNU

The Patriot League returns to ESPNU on Saturday with a rematch of the 2008 League Championship contest. Colgate goes to League co-leader American in a 1 p.m. start, with each team sitting in the top half of the standings. The ESPNU slate wraps up on Feb. 22 when Lafayette visits Lehigh in a rivalry matchup.

Holy Cross, American in Familiar Territory

Holy Cross and American can each clinch a top four seed in the Patriot League Tournament and home game in the quarterfinal round with a win on Saturday. If they do, it would be common ground for both programs. American has captured a top four seed in the Tournament in all seven of its Patriot League seasons, and hosted the quarterfinals in the last two seasons after the League moved to its current format of playing each game at the site of the higher seed. Holy Cross has hosted at least the first round of the League Tournament in three of the last four seasons, and held a top four seed in six of the past eight campaigns.

Eagles, Crusaders Dominating the League

American and Holy Cross are tied for first place in the Patriot League with 8-1 records, and each hold a five-game winning streak that is tied for 19th-longest nationally. But the records just begin to tell the story of how strong each squad has been in League play. They are the only two teams that are outscoring opponents in League action, with Holy Cross doing so by 10.7 points per game and American by 10.3. Holy Cross (55.6) is first and American (57.2) is second in scoring defense, and each squad is in the top three in scoring offense. Either Holy Cross or American are leading in 11 of 19 team statistical categories in Patriot League games.

American Continues to Roll on the Road

With a 52-50 win at Bucknell on Wednesday, American solidifed its status as one of the nation's top road teams. The Eagles improved to 9-6 on the road, and 4-1 away from Bender Arena in Patriot League action. They are one of only three teams in the country with at least nine road wins, joining Butler (10) and Utah State (9) in the elite group.

Heartbreak Hotel

Army and Bucknell have struggled of late, but it isn't for lack of trying. The Black Knights have dropped their last two games by two and three points, while the Bison have lost a pair by two points. Army had a shot to tie the contest in the final seconds at Colgate and Holy Cross but came up empty. Bucknell very narrowly missed two victories, with shots to win in regulation and overtime against Navy on Saturday and a three-point attempt at the buzzer against American on Wednesday.

Sweeps Or Splits?

Nine Patriot League season series have been completed in 2009, and they have produced more sweeps than splits. Six of the nine have finished in 2-0 sweeps, including two each for Holy Cross and American. Also, Navy swept Bucknell and Colgate swept Army. The Lafayette/Colgate, Bucknell/Colgate and Lehigh/Navy series all ended in ties, with only the Lehigh/Navy matchups going to the road team. Home teams are 23-14 in Patriot League games.

Block Party In Hamilton

Colgate's Alex Woodhouse came up with a big block in the final seconds to preserve a win over Army on Saturday, but that was nothing new last week. Woodhouse recorded 11 blocked shots in Colgate's two victories, with five against Bucknell and six versus Army. He upped his career total to 166, good for seventh in League annals. Woodhouse leads the Patriot League and is among the leaders nationally with 2.57 blocks per game, a mark that exceeds the average of every other Patriot League team except Holy Cross and Bucknell.

Moving Up the Lists

American's Derrick Mercer is up to fourth in Patriot League annals with 481 assists, while Colgate's Alex Woodhouse is in seventh with 166 blocks. Lafayette's Andrew Brown has 274 three-pointers, setting a school record and placing third in League history. Kaleo Kina is the leading active scorer, and recently entered the top 25 on the Patriot League chart with 1,415 points

This and That

Bucknell will play host to Delaware in the ESPNU BracketBusters event on Feb. 21..Lehigh junior guard Marquis Hall is on the nominee list for the Bob Cousy Award, presented to the top guard in college basketball, and was an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection...Navy's nine-game home winning streak to open the season wsa the second-longest in school history...American opened Patriot League play at 3-0 for the first time in school history...Navy earned its first-ever spot in the College.Insider.com top 25 on Jan. 12...Navy (11) and Lehigh (10) each won double-digit games in non-League play...Lehigh's Matt Szalachowksi is one of 30 candidates for the 2008-09 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, presented to a student-athlete based on classroom, character, community and competition...American's Derrick Mercer and Garrison Carr are the first set of Eagle teammates to both have over 1,000 career points in the same season since 1996...Army has already had 12 different players score in double figures this season...Navy senior guard Kaleo Kina became the fifth student-athlete in Patriot League history to earn three consecutive Player of the Week awards on Dec. 15. Kina was also one of four finalists for CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major Player of the Week honors on the same week...After posting a 2-1 record from Dec. 1-7, Navy was honored as the Mid-Major Team of the Week by Jeff Goodman in the FoxSports.com Weekly Wrap. The Mids had improved to 7-2 at the time...Navy has the best single-game shooting performance in the nation. The Mids' connected on 71.4 percent of their shots (25-for-35) in a 78-65 win over UT-San Antonio on Dec. 2....Lehigh's 76-71 win over Rutgers on Nov. 26 was the first for the Mountain Hawks against a Big East team in their Patriot League history, and first for the Patriot League against the Big East since 2005.

Patriot League All-Access Returns in 2009

Watch the majority of Patriot League Men's and Women's Basketball regular-season League and tournament games on high-speed Broadband on the Patriot League All-Access package. For $9.95 a month, this cutting-edge technology takes you from your seat to the sideline with multi-camera coverage.

2009 Patriot League Tournament

The 2009 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament will once again be played at campus sites, with the quarterfinals on March 4, semifinals on March 8 and Patriot League Championship on ESPN2 at 4:45 p.m. on March 13. All games will be played at the site of the higher seed.

Patriot League Games

Colgate (9-14, 5-5 PL) at American (16-7, 8-1 PL), Saturday, 1 p.m.
Bender Arena; Washington D.C. TV: ESPNU
Series: American, 16-3 Streak: American, Nine Wins
Last Meeting: American 79-49 (1.17.09) Last Colgate Win: 67-57 (2.13.05)

American hosts Colgate at Bender Arena on Saturday with a chance at locking up a home game in the Patriot League quarterfinals...The game will be televised on ESPNU and is a rematch of last year's Patriot League title game, won by the Eagles, 52-46, at Bender Arena...The Eagles have won the last nine meetings between the schools, the longest active streak in a Patriot League series...American won the first meeting against Colgate, 79-49, in Hamilton on Jan. 17, and is going for its fourth consecutive sweep of the season series...American has won all nine meetings between the schools at Bender Arena, with wins over the Raiders in the regular season and Patriot League Tournament in each of the last two seasons...American has a 16-3 lead in the all-time series, and a 13-2 edge in regular-season Patriot League games.

Colgate The Raiders played another strong game at home, jumping out to a 19-2 lead in the early going and coasting to a 71-54 win over Lafayette on Wednesday...Colgate has won three consecutive contests, and closed its four-game homestand with a 3-1 mark...That stretch has vaulted the Raiders to 5-5 in the Patriot League, good for fourth place in the standings...The Raiders are 4-2 at Cotterell Court in Patriot League play...Colgate split the season series with Lafayette for the third straight year, winning the second matchup between the schools each time...It was the first time in the last eight meetings that the contest was not decided by 10 points or less...Four players scored in double figures for the Raiders, led by a career-high tying 20 for Mike Venezia...Yaw Gyawu scored 16 points, while Ben Jonson had 13 and Anthony Hill added 10...The Raiders made 59 percent (27-of-46) of their shots in the contest, and led by as many as 24 points in the second half...Colgate did play most of the contest without leading rebounder and shot blocker Alex Woodhouse, who was injured in the early going...The Raiders close the year with three of their last four Patriot League games on the road, and four of five overall away from Hamilton...That stretch begins on Saturday at American in an ESPNU-televised contest...A victory would put the Raiders over .500 in League play for the first time since winning their season opener at Army.

American The Eagles held on at Bucknell to win their fifth consecutive game, knocking off the Bison, 52-50, on Wednesday...It was American's 11th win in the last 12 outings, and improved its record to 16-7 overall and tied for first place at 8-1 in the Patriot League...American earned a victory at Bucknell for the first time since their inaugural Patriot League campaign in 2002, and swept the season series against the Bison for the first time since that year...The Eagles snapped an eight-game losing skid in Lewisburg...American held a small lead throughout most of the game, but saw Bucknell tie the score at 48 with just over five minutes remaining...A layup by Derrick Mercer and free throws by Frank Borden made it 52-48 with 1:43 to go...Bucknell cut it to two and had chances to tie and win the game in the final seconds, but Jordan Nichols blocked G.W. Boon's shot with 10 seconds to go and the Bison missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer...Mercer led the Eagles with 17 points to go with a game-high seven rebounds, while Garrison Carr had 13 points and five boards...The Eagles shot 40.4 percent in the game while holding Bucknell to 30 percent shooting...The Eagles are 8-1 in the Patriot League for the first time since joining prior to the 2001-02 season and are enjoying their best conference record since the 1980-81 team went a perfect 11-0 in the East Coast Conference...American is 9-6 on the road, and 4-1 in road Patriot League games...It is one of only three teams in the country with at least nine road wins...The Eagles and Bison played a game within six points for the fifth time in the last six meetings...American returns home to face Colgate on Saturday in an ESPNU-televised rematch of the 2008 Patriot League Championship...The Eagles are 4-0 in Patriot League home games, and have an 11-game home winning streak against League opponents.

Bucknell (5-19, 2-8 PL) at Holy Cross (13-11, 8-1 PL), Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Hart Center; Worcester, Mass.
Series: Bucknell, 26-22 Streak: Holy Cross, Two Wins
Last Meeting: Holy Cross, 68-56 (1.17.09) Last Bucknell Win: 73-65 (1.18.08)

Two teams on opposite ends of the standings meet in Worcester on Saturday afternoon...Holy Cross is tied for first place with an 8-1 mark, while Bucknell is in eighth with a 2-8 League record...The Crusaders can lock up a home game in the Patriot League quarterfinals with a win...Holy Cross notched a 68-56 win at Bucknell on Jan. 17, the third consecutive victory for the road team in the series...Bucknell scored a 73-65 win at Holy Cross last season before the Crusaders won the last two meetings in Lewisburg...The teams have split the season series in the last two and four of the past five campaigns, and Holy Cross has not swept the Bison since 2003...Bucknell has a 26-22 advantage in the all-time series with Holy Cross, including a 20-17 edge in Patriot League regular-season play...The teams met for the Patriot League Championship in each season from 2005-07.

Bucknell Bucknell lost a two-point contest at home for the second game in a row, falling to American, 52-50, on Wednesday at Sojka Pavilion...The Bison also missed an opportunity to win at the buzzer for the second straight game, as Darryl Shazier's three-point attempt was off...Bucknell had rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to tie the score at 48, but could not take the lead...G.W. Boon had a shot to tie the game blocked with 10 seconds to play before Shazier's final attempt...Three players scored in double figures for the Bison, with 13 for Patrick Behan and Bryan Cohen and 12 for Justin Castleberry...Bucknell dropped its fifth consecutive game overall, with a 62-60 loss in overtime against Navy on Saturday in the previous contest...Bucknell fell to 5-19 overall and 2-8 in the Patriot League...It was the first home loss against American since 2002, snapping an eight-game win streak against the Eagles in Lewisburg...The Bison also were swept by the Eagles for the first time since that season...Five of the last six meetings with American have been decided by six points or less...Bucknell begins a two-game road stint on Saturday, playing its final two away contests of the regular season at Holy Cross on Saturday and at Lafayette on Wednesday...The Bison are trying to avoid losing nine games in Patriot League play for the first time.

Holy Cross The Crusaders had to rally to win their fifth consecutive game, coming back from a 17-point first-half deficit to defeat Army, 62-59, on Wednesday...Holy Cross clinched a winning record in Patriot League action, with a mark of 13-11 overall and 8-1 in League play...The Crusaders are 8-1 or better in League play for the third time in five seasons, and fourth in seven years...Holy Cross swept the season series against Army, and has won 16 of the last 17 against the Black Knights...Down 12 at halftime, the Crusaders charged out with 10 points to start the second half...The game was back and forth from there with five ties and six lead changes, but Colin Cunningham put Holy Cross ahead for good on a pair of foul shots with 2:27 left...Army missed a three at the buzzer with a chance to tie...Andrew Keister had a big day for the Crusaders, tallying a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds...Cunningham recorded 16 points for Holy Cross...The Crusaders used a 16-for-26 shooting effort in the second half and outscored Army, 42-27, in the period...Holy Cross overcame a 10-of-23 showing at the foul line...The Crusaders opened a three-game homestand with a victory, and improved to 8-3 at the Hart Center this season and 4-0 at home in Patriot League contests...Holy Cross continues the homestand against Bucknell on Saturday and Navy on Wednesday.

Lehigh (14-9, 4-5 PL) at Army (7-16, 3-6 PL), Saturday, 4 pm.
Christl Arena; West Point, N.Y.
Series: Army, 57-29 Streak: Lehigh, One Win
Last Meeting: Lehigh, 77-57 (1.17.09) Last Army Win: 64-61 (OT) (3.5.08)

A pair of teams trying to climb into the top half of the Patriot League standings face off at West Point on Saturday...Lehigh is in fifth place in the League with a 4-5 record, while Army is sixth with a 3-6 mark...Lehigh is trying to earn a regular-season sweep over Army for the second straight year after posting a 77-57 victory at home on Jan. 17...The Black Knights did beat Lehigh, 64-61, in overtime in last year's Patriot League quarterfinals...The last three meetings have been held at Lehigh, with the last meeting at Army ending in a 57-52 Lehigh victory on Jan. 20, 2008...Army holds a 57-29 lead in the all-time series, though Lehigh is up, 24-13, in regular-season Patriot League action.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks snapped their two-game losing streak with a 70-59 win at Navy on Wednesday, and moved into sole possession of fifth place in the Patriot League at 4-5...Lehigh snapped a four-game losing streak against Navy and split the season series with the Mids...It has won three of the last four meetings in Annapolis...The Mountain Hawks trailed by nine points early in the half, but used a blistering 61 percent second-half shooting effort to take control... Lehigh took the lead with a 13-2 run to make it 51-48 with 9:40 left, and answered a Navy basket with seven straight points for a 58-50 lead with 6:47 to go...Lehigh held at least a six-point lead from that point en route to the win...Four Mountain Hawks scored in double digits, with a game-high 18 for Marquis Hall, 14 for Dave Buchberger, 12 for Zahir Carrington and 10 for Rob Keefer...Carrington also tallied nine rebounds...Lehigh made 24-of-45 (53.3 percent) of its shots in the game, and 14-of-23 in the second half...The strong second half shooting also included a 12-of-14 effort at the foul line...The victory made Lehigh 7-5 on the road, setting a school record for road wins...The Mountain Hawks are back on the road when they visit Army on Saturday...Lehigh is trying to get back to .500 in League play.

Army The Black Knights suffered their second heartbreaking loss in as many games, falling at Holy Cross, 62-59, on Wednesday...Army lost all three games on its road trip, with the last two coming by two and three points each...Army fell to 0-4 in Patriot League road games, and 3-6 in League play to land in sixth place...Army held a 25-8 lead in the first half, and was up, 32-20, at halftime before Holy Cross rallied to take the lead early in the second half...The game featured five ties and six lead changes before Holy Cross took the lead for good with 2:27 left...Army had a shot to tie at the buzzer, but Nathan Hedgecock missed a three-point attempt...Kenny Brewer led the Black Knights with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Josh Miller added 12 points, five boards and four assists and Cleveland Richard added 10 points...Army hit 14-of-22 shots in the first half, but only 9-of-25 in the second half...The Black Knights were also hurt by 20 turnovers and 3-of-14 three-point shooting...Army has lost 16 of the last 17 games against the Crusaders, and was swept in the season series...The Black Knights are back home to face Lehigh on Saturday...They are 3-2 at home in League contests, with three straight wins at Christl Arena.

Lafayette (6-18, 2-7 PL) at Navy (16-8, 5-4 PL), Saturday, 7 p.m.
Alumni Hall; Annapolis,Md.
Series: Navy, 39-23 Streak: Lafayette, One Win
Last Meeting: Lafayette, 84-69 (1.17.09) Last Navy Win: 82-80 (2.16.08)

Navy hosts Lafayette on Saturday evening, with the Mids trying to strengthen their hold on third place in the Patriot League...Navy is 5-4 in League action, just a half-game ahead of Colgate and a game ahead of Lehigh...The Mids have won four of the last six meetings with the Leopards, but Lafayette notched an 84-69 victory at home on Jan. 17 this year...The Leopards also scored a victory in the teams' last meeting in Annapolis, beating Navy, 103-99, in overtime on Jan. 19 of last year as the teams split the season series...Navy has still won three of the last four meetings in Annapols...Navy holds a 39-22 advantage in the all-time series, but Lafayette is up, 18-17, in regular-season League games.

Lafayette The Leopards continued their recent slump, losing their seventh consecutive contest in a 71-54 defeat at Colgate on Wednesday...Lafayette has dropped six straight in Patriot League action, falling to 2-7 and seventh place in the League...The teams split the season series for the third year in a row...Colgate scored 19 straight points after Lafayette notched the opening basket, and the Leopards trailed by as many as 24...A pair of freshmen led Lafayette in scoring, with 16 points for Ryan Willen and 13 for Jim Mower...It was Willen's sixth consecutive double-digit performance...Lafayette often used four and even five freshmen on the floor at one time in the second half as they once again played without forward Jared Mintz...The Leopards are back on the road at Navy on Saturday...Lafayette has lost 12 straight road games since winning the season opener at Wagner, and is 0-5 on the road in Patriot League play.

Navy The Mids had their two-game winning streak come to an end with a 70-59 home loss to Lehigh on Wednesday...Navy is still in third place at 5-4 in the Patriot League, but fell three games behind co-leaders Holy Cross and American...The Mids also had their four-game win streak against Lehigh snapped, and split the season series with the Mountain Hawks...Navy held an eight-point lead at halftime and was up nine in the second half, but saw Lehigh put together a 21-5 second-half run to take control...Chris Harris had 18 points for Navy, while Clif Colbert scored 11 and Mark Veazey tallied 10...Kaleo Kina, the leading scorer in the Patriot League, was held to a season-low five points...The Mids shot just 33 percent (9-of-27) in the second half, and were outscored 44-25 in the period...Navy was 6-of-23 from three-point range in the game...Navy is back home to face Lafayette on Saturday evening...The Mids have dropped two straight home games after winning their first nine contests at Alumni Hall.