Feb. 19, 2010

Center Valley, Pa. - Only three games remain for each team in the Patriot League men's basketball regular season, yet no squad has clinched a home game in the League Tournament quarterfinals on March 3. That can change in a big way over the weekend, as Lehigh, Bucknell and Navy all have a chance to guarantee at least one home game in their quest for the 2010 Patriot League Championship.

Patriot League Men's Basketball Release - 2.19.10

The weekend schedule features a pair of rivalry games on the CBS College Sports Network, as Navy is at Army on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Lehigh goes to Lafayette on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Lehigh/Lafayette game was selected as the first "flex" game on the network, so the contests pitting Colgate at Bucknell and American at Holy Cross will also be played on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Lehigh and Bucknell control their own destiny to lock up a home game in the Patriot League quarterfinals. The Mountain Hawks will do so with a win over Lafayette or a loss by American, while Bucknell can seal its spot in the top four with a win. Navy can guarantee a third straight home quarterfinal game with a win over Army on Saturday followed with a loss by either Lafayette or American on Sunday.

The Patriot League Tournament begins on March 3 with the quarterfinal round, where the top four seeds will each host their games. The entire Tournament is played on campus sites at the home court of the higher seed, and will continue with the semifinals on March 7 and Championship on March 12 at 4:45 p.m. on ESPN2.

Patriot League Notebook

Lehigh, Navy, Bucknell Separate Further Wednesday
Lehigh maintained sole possession of first place in the League by rallying from a nine-point halftime deficit to win at Colgate, 91-81. Navy moved to 7-4 by emerging with an 83-80 victory in a back-and-forth game with Holy Cross that saw the Crusaders miss a game-tying attempt at the buzzer. Bucknell kept pace, leading from start to finish in a 78-67 win over Lafayette. American held on for a 57-54 win at home against Army to inch closer to the top four in the standings.

Lehigh is 8-3 in the Patriot League, followed by Navy and Bucknell at 7-4 and Lafayette at 6-5. American is up to 5-6, with Colgate and Holy Cross at 4-7 and Army at 3-8.

Looking to Host
The three teams with a chance to earn home games in the Patriot League quarterfinals over the weekend all have familiarity with hosting League Tournament contests. Navy has hosted in the quarterfinal round in the past two seasons, while Lehigh did so in 2007 and 2008. However, each of those squads lost their home dates. Bucknell has not hosted a League Tournament game since 2007, but the Bison would have to like their chances in the postseason at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison are a perfect 7-0 in the building in League Tournament games, including a 74-59 win over Holy Cross for the 2006 Patriot League Championship. Bucknell has not dropped a League Tournament game at home since falling to Holy Cross in the 1993 title contest.

Best Seasons in a While in the Lehigh Valley
Lehigh pushed its record to 17-9 on Wednesday, and has already won its most overall games since going 19-12 in 2006. Lehigh has also clinched a winning Patriot League record for the first time since an 11-3 mark in that 2006 campaign. Lafayette is looking to end even longer droughts, as another win would guarantee the Leopards their first winning overall record and .500 or better Patriot League finish since going 18-10 overall and 9-5 in the Patriot League in 2004.

Turning their Season Around
After losing a tough game at Lafayette on Jan. 20, Bucknell fell to 1-3 in the Patriot League and just 6-14 for the season. As grim as the outlook may have looked at the time, it appears just as sunny now as the Bison are the hottest team in the Patriot League with three straight wins and victories in six of their last seven contests. Bucknell has taken at least a 19-point lead in each of its last three games. The Bison have clinched their first .500 season in League play since 2007.

Mids Getting Used to Winning Again
You can say Navy's success in the Patriot League has gone in spurts. The Mids had a winning Patriot League and overall record for eight straight seasons from 1994 through 2001. Then, the program suffered six consecutive losing League and overall campaigns from 2002 through 2007. Now, the Mids are back on the upswing, with winning League and overall seasons in 2008 and 2009 and another chance at doing so in 2010. Navy has already clinched at least a .500 record in League play at 7-4, and is right at the mark overall with a 13-13 record.

Home Teams Re-Claim the Edge
After road squads swept the Patriot League games last Wednesday and Thursday, home teams have gained the advantage again with seven wins in the past eight contests. Most of the Wednesday results weren't particular surprising considering recent history. Army has still never won at American, while Lafayette lost its 10th straight game at Bucknell and Holy Cross dropped its third straight at Navy. Lehigh did earn its first road win at Colgate since 2007. Navy joined Lehigh and Lafayette with double-digit home wins for the season, and every squad is at .500 or better at home in Patriot League play to compile the League's mark of 30-14 for home teams.

Lehigh's McCollum Nears Freshman Scoring Mark
Lehigh's C.J. McCollum has made quite a name for himself in his first campaign in Bethlehem, and now he's in range of eclipsing a record set by the most recognizable name to play Patriot League basketball. McCollum has 459 points for the season, good for a 17.7 average, and is within 50 points of the Patriot League freshman scoring record of 509 held by Colgate's Adonal Foyle (1994-95). McCollum is a little further from the Lehigh freshman mark of 546 set by Darren Queenan in 1984-85. McCollum could be zeroing in on an All-Patriot League selection, which would make him just the third freshman to receive that honor.

Marquis Player.....and Student
Lehigh senior guard Marquis Hall went over the 1,400 point mark in his career last week, and now is the only Patriot Leaguer with 1,400 points and 500 assists in his career. Hall was already the only player with 1,300 points and 500 assists. He is up to third in League annals with 528 assists, just three away from second-place Brian Walker of Navy (1993-97). But Hall's accolades extend beyond the court, too. He is one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in men's basketball, which honors notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition. Fans can vote for Hall once per day at http://www.seniorclassaward.com/athletes/marquis_hall.

Navy's Harris Continues to Pile Up the Points....and Records
Navy senior Chris Harris posted the best scoring performance by a Patriot League player in nearly five years when he totaled 40 points in an 85-78 win over Lehigh on Feb. 10. It was the highest scoring output by a Patriot League player since Lehigh's Joe Knight had 45 against Colgate in the 2005 League Tournament quarterfinals, and the top performance for a Navy player in the school's time as a Patriot League member. Harris received Patriot League and ECAC Player of the Week honors for his 40-point performance.Harris leads the Patriot League and is among the national leaders with 21.5 points per game in 2010, and has become just the 20th Patriot Leaguer to go over 1,500 career points. He has four of the League's 14 games of 30 points or more, matching the number the entire League hit last year. Harris is in the Patriot League record book for points, steals, three-pointers made and free-throw percentage, a group of records acheived only once before by Bucknell's Kevin Bettencourt (2002-06).

The "Flex" Schedule On CBS College Sports Network
The Lehigh/Lafayette contest on Sunday will be the first "flex" game on the Patriot League schedule on CBS College Sports Network, with another "flex" game on the final day of the regular season on Feb. 27 at 4 p.m. The coverage will continue in the postseason with one quarterfinal game on March 3 at 7 p.m. and a semifinal game 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.

High-Scoring Action in League Play
Patriot League action has already included one 100-point outing, six 90+ point games and 17 80+ point games this season. That dwarfs last year's totals of one 90-point game and four 80-point efforts. The individual scoring efforts have been much more plentiful as well. Patriot League players have scored 29 points or more 13 times in League action after nobody did it last year, and there have been 10 30-point efforts in League games and now even a 40-point performance by Navy's Chris Harris. There have been 14 30-point efforts for the season, including four by Harris, after a total of four last year.

Patriot League Tournament Just Two Weeks Away
With only three games remaining in the regular season, the 2010 Patriot League Tournament is just around the corner. The event will begin on Wednesday, March 3 with the quarterfinal round, and will be played entirely at home sites. The top four seeds will play host to the quarterfinals, with the top remaining seed in each bracket hosting the semifinal games on March 7, as the League does not re-seed the Tournament. One quarterfinal and one semifinal game will be broadcast on CBS College Sports Network, and the Patriot League Championship is set for March 12 at 4:45 p.m. on ESPN2 at the site of the highest remaining seed.

Patriot League Games

Navy (13-13, 7-4) at Army (13-12, 3-8)
Christl Arena; West Point, N.Y. - Saturday, 2 p.m.

Series Navy, 69-42 TV CBS College Sports Network
Streak Navy, Two Wins Last Meeting Navy, 62-56 (1.23.2010)
Last Army Win 76-71 (1.25.2009) Last Five Games Navy, 3-2

Navy tries to stay in at least second place in the Patriot League and sweep rival Army for the first time since 2003 when the teams meet at West Point on the CBS College Sports Network on Saturday afternoon...The Mids broke a six-year and 12-game string of alternating victories by knocking off the Black Knights, 62-56, in Annapolis on Jan. 23...Navy has won the second meeting, or Star Game, in each of the last seven seasons, and holds a 52-34 lead in Star Game matchups between the schools...The Alumni Trophy, given to the winner of the game, consists of two silver plates 15 inches in diameter, one with the West Point seal and one with the seal of the Naval Academy...Army won last year's meeting in West Point, 76-71, on Jan. 25, 2009...The last nine meetings have been decided by single digits...A Navy win would guarantee that the Mids finish above .500 in League play for the third straight year...Army is opening a season-ending three-game homestand.

Navy The Mids earned a key victory in their quest for home court in the Patriot League Tournament, as they battled back in the final minutes and held on late for an 83-80 win over Holy Cross on Wednesday in Annapolis...Navy improved to 13-13 overall and 7-4 in the Patriot League with its fourth win in the last five games...The Mids are tied with Bucknell for second place, one game behind League-leading Lehigh...Navy has swept the season series from both the Bison and Mountain Hawks this year...The game featured 11 ties and eight lead changes...Navy built its biggest lead of the day at 64-56 with 10:37 to play, but that was quickly wiped away as Holy Cross put together a 16-2 run for a six-point edge with 5:40 left...Navy cut it to 74-73 on a three-pointer by Chris Harris with 4:02 left, and neither team led by more than three points in the last four minutes...After Holy Cross went up two, Jordan Sugars answered 15 seconds later with a three-pointer to put Navy ahead to stay at 79-78 with two minutes left...It was an 81-80 lead when Chris Harris hit a shot to make it a three-point game with 11 seconds left, and Holy Cross missed a game-tying three in the final seconds...Harris and Sugars scored 21 points apiece, combining for an 8-for-17 clip from beyond the arc...O.J. Avworo had 14 points and a career-high 13 assists, as he helped Navy total 21 assists with just eight turnovers...That ratio allowed the Mids to overcome a 44-26 rebounding difference...Navy shot 56.7 percent in the second half and just under 48 percent for the game, and made 6-of-14 three-pointers after the break and 9-of-27 for the contest...The Mids also connected on 16-of-20 free throws...Navy plays its regular-season home finale when it takes on American on Wednesday night.

Army The Black Knights fell for the third straight outing and sixth time in the last seven games on Wednesday, as their comeback effort fell short in a 57-54 loss at American...Army dropped to 13-12 overall and 3-8 in the Patriot League, and will not be able to host a game in the League quarterfinals on March 3...The Black Knights have still never won at American in Patriot League play, or swept the Eagles in a season series as the teams split this year's matchups...The Black Knights have never finished at .500 or better in Patriot League play, a streak that will continue this season...Army fell behind by as many as 15 in the opening minutes, but battled back to cut the deficit to three early in the second half and eventually tie the score at 48 with 4:02 to play...The Black Knights were never able to take the lead, however, and fell when Cleveland Richard's last-second three-point attempt was off the mark...Tyrell Thompson led Army with 13 points, while Jeremy Hence and Richard each scored 11...Army only turned the ball over nine times, but was outrebounded 35-21 and struggled from the three-point (5-of-16) and free throw (7-of-14) line...Army continues its season-ending three-game homestand against Lafayette on Wednesday.

Lehigh (17-9, 8-3) at Lafayette (15-11, 6-5)
Kirby Sports Center; Easton, Pa. - Sunday, 2 p.m.

Series Lafayette, 137-74 TV CBS College Sports Network
Streak Lehigh, One Win Last Meeting Lehigh, 75-57 (1.23.2010)
Last Lafayette Win 68-66 (2.22.2009) Last Five Games Lehigh, 3-2

Rivals Lehigh and Lafayette meet in a key game in the Patriot League standings on Sunday at 2 p.m. on the CBS College Sports Network...Lehigh holds first place at 8-3, while Lafayette is just two games back at 6-5...The Mountain Hawks are going for their first season sweep over Lafayette since 2006 after winning at home, 75-57, on Jan. 23...The teams have split the matchups in the past three seasons, with Lafayette winning the rematch each time...Lafayette has won two of the last three meetings in Easton, though Lehigh scored a 60-57 win on the road on Jan. 24 of last season...Lehigh is trying to build on its best overall and Patriot League season since going 19-12 overall and 11-3 in the League in 2006...With a victory, Lafayette would guarantee at least a .500 finish in the Patriot League and a winning overall record for the first time since going 18-10 overall and 9-5 in the League in 2004...Lehigh is playing its last road game of the regular season, while Lafayette plays its home finale.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks came back from a nine-point halftime deficit to knock off Colgate, 91-81, on Wednesday in Hamilton...Lehigh swept the season series between the teams for the first time since 2007, also the last time the Mountain Hawks won at Colgate...Lehigh is 17-9 overall and 8-3 in the Patriot League, guaranteed of its most overall and Patriot League wins since going 19-12 and 11-3 in the League in 2006...It has won two straight games and four of the last five contests...Lehigh made up the halftime difference and more early in the second half, using a 22-6 run out of the locker room to take a 62-55 lead with 14:15 left...Colgate put together a 13-3 run to re-claim a one-point lead with 6:29 left, but the Mountain Hawks answered with a three-pointer by Michael Ojo to take the lead for good with 5:48 left... C.J. McCollum's jumper made it 82-77 with 1:54 to go, and it was never a one-possession game again as Ojo and Marquis Hall combined to make 7-of-8 free throws in the final minute...Ojo and McCollum led a balanced Lehigh scoring effort with 22 points apiece, with Ojo setting a career high...Zahir Carrington totaled 12 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, while Hall added 13 points and Gabe Knutson scored nine to give Lehigh 78 points from its starting five...The Mountain Hawks hit over 50 percent of their shots in the game, with a stifling 17-of-26 (65.4 percent) mark in the second half...Lehigh also hit 6-of-9 three-pointers after the break and 8-of-17 for the game...Carrington led Lehigh to a 37-28 edge on the boards...Lehigh closes its regular season with two home games, including a huge matchup against Bucknell on Wednesday.

Lafayette The Leopards lost their grip on second place on Wednesday, as they played without top scorer Jared Mintz in a 78-67 loss at Bucknell...Lafayette fell to 15-11 overall with its fourth loss in the past five games, and down to fourth place in the Patriot League at 6-5...It was Lafayette's 10th straight loss at Bucknell, as the Leopards split the season series with the Bison for the third straight year...Lafayette has not swept Bucknell since 2000...Lafayette fell behind 13-2 in the early minutes and trailed by double figures for the last 32 minutes of the game...The Leopards could only come as close as 10 once with 7:05 left...Jim Mower led the Leopards with 12 points, while Michael Gruner also finished in double figures with 10...Lafayette shot just over 35 percent in the game, and made 7-of-23 three-point shots...The Leopards have only road games remaining after the weekend, as they take on Army on Wednesday and American on Saturday.

Colgate (8-17, 4-7) at Bucknell (12-15, 7-4)
Sojka Pavilion; Lewisburg, Pa. - Sunday, 2 p.m.

Series Bucknell, 53-40
Streak Bucknell, One Win Last Meeting Bucknell, 62-61 (1.23.2010)
Last Colgate Win 68-57 (2.4.2009) Last Five Games Bucknell, 3-2

Bucknell can set up a first-place showdown with Lehigh on Wednesday if it continues its winning ways of late and its home dominance over Colgate on Sunday afternoon...The Bison have won three straight and six of seven to improve to 7-4 in the Patriot League, one game behind the Mountain Hawks in the standings...Bucknell won at Colgate, 62-61, in the first meeting on Jan. 23, and goes for its fifth season sweep of the Raiders in the last six seasons...Bucknell has won its last six home dates with Colgate, with the last loss in Lewisburg coming in 2003...The Bison would seal an above .500 record in League play for the first time since 2007 with a victory...Bucknell is playing its home finale.

Colgate The Raiders had their two-game winning streak snapped with a 91-81 loss at home against Lehigh on Wednesday...Colgate was swept by Lehigh for the first time since 2007, and dropped to 8-17 overall and 4-7 in the Patriot League...The Raiders jumped out to a nine-point halftime lead, but saw Lehigh surge ahead by seven less than six minutes into the second half...Colgate fought back to take a one-point lead with 6:29 left on the strength of a 13-3 run, but Lehigh answered on the other end to go back ahead for good...Four Raiders scored in double figures, led by Kyle Roemer's 21...Yaw Gyawu and Ben Jonson each totaled 13 while Mitch Rolls had 10 and recorded seven of the team's 19 assists...Colgate made at least 50 percent of its shots in each half, and went 31-of-59 for the game...The Raiders hit 9-of-22 three-pointers, but only 2-of-11 came after halftime...Colgate plays its final regular-season road game at Holy Cross on Wednesday.

Bucknell The Bison solidified their status as the hottest team in the Patriot League, winning for the third straight time and sixth in the last seven games with a convincing 78-67 triumph over Lafayette in Lewisburg on Wednesday...Bucknell improved to 12-15 overall and remains in a second-place tie with Navy at 7-4 in the Patriot League...The Bison guaranteed at least a .500 finish in League play for the first time since 2007...Bucknell opened the game with a 13-2 lead and held a double-digit advantage for the final 32 minutes...The Bison gained a split of the season series with the Leopards for the third year in a row, and defeated Lafayette at home for the 10th straight time...Bucknell took the double-digit advantage for good with a 7-0 run for a 24-9 lead with 11:10 left in the first half...The Bison got the lead as high as 21...When Lafayette got as close as 10 points with 7:05 left in the game, the Bison responded with five straight points to end the threat...Freshman Mike Muscala put together the best game of his young career, posting career highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double effort...G.W. Boon scored 15 and Joe Willman totaled 14 off the bench...Muscala helped Bucknell to a 46-35 advantage on the boards, and the Bison had 18 assists with 11 turnovers....After playing their home finale on Sunday, the Bison face a key game in the League standings when they visit Lehigh on Wednesday.

American (8-18, 5-6) at Holy Cross (7-19, 4-7)
Hart Center; Worcester, Mass. - Sunday, 2 p.m.

Series Holy Cross, 15-8
Streak American, Three Wins Last Meeting American, 71-64 (1.23.2010)
Last Holy Cross Win 71-62 (1.24.2009) Last Five Games American, 4-1

Two teams trying to hang on to a chance at a quarterfinal home game in the League Tournament meet in Worcester on Sunday...American is in fifth place at 5-6, while Holy Cross sits in a tie for sixth at 4-7...The Eagles have won the last three meetings between the teams, including a 71-64 victory at home on Jan. 23...Holy Cross won the last matchup at the Hart Center, 71-62 on Jan. 24 of last season...American goes for its first season sweep over Holy Cross since 2004, as the teams have split the regular-season meetings in the past two years before the Eagles won a League Tournament matchup.

American The Eagles got off to a great start and held on with key plays down the stretch to defeat Army, 57-54, on Wednesday at Bender Arena...American improved to 8-18 overall and in fifth place in the Patriot League at 5-6...The Eagles have still never been swept by Army or lost a game to the Black Knights in Washington...The Eagles held a 25-10 lead early on, and took a 31-19 lead into the half...The Black Knights came all the way back to tie the score at 48 with 4:02 to play, but the Eagles went back ahead for good on Vlad Moldoveanu's three-pointer with 3:05 left...Nick Hendra gave American the 57-54 lead on a pair of free throws with five seconds to play, and Army missed a potential tying three-pointer as the clock wound down...Moldoveanu led the way with 18 points...Stephen Lumpkins had 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Joe Hill scored 12 and Hendra had 10... American held a 35-21 rebounding edge to overcome 17 turnovers...The Eagles hit just over 45 percent of their shots and made 10-of-21 three-pointers...The Eagles play their last League road game at Navy on Wednesday.

Holy Cross The Crusaders had a great chance to steal a road victory at Navy, but could not hold a late six-point lead and fell, 83-80, on Wednesday in Annapolis...Holy Cross lost its second straight game to fall to 7-19 overall and 4-7 in the Patriot League...The teams split the season series for the second straight year, and Holy Cross lost at Navy for the third consecutive season...The game was back-and-forth with 11 ties and eight lead changes...After Navy went ahead 64-56, Holy Cross stormed back with a 16-2 run to match its biggest lead of the night at 72-66 with 5:40 left...Navy eventually went ahead for good with two minutes to play...` Holy Cross' Devin Brown missed a three as time expired that would have tied the score...Brown led the Crusaders with 23 points, while Andrew Keister had 22 points and 14 rebounds to help the team build a 44-26 edge on the boards....The Crusaders dished out 22 assists on their 28 field goals, and shot 48 percent for the game....Holy Cross wraps up its home schedule when it welcomes Colgate on Wednesday.